For Cake and Cream
by UnsightlyDreams
Summary: "Ryuuga has a friend in To-Oh?" Light frowned, absently picking up his racket. His voice lowered. "How...odd." Because sometimes, fate likes to play games, and one detective's journey to provide Justice just might be hindered with the right kind of distractions. Sarah Miller swore she was only trying to be nice. (LXOC)
1. Chapter 1

It trembled precariously, the liquid within sloshing both sides. The faint crack, visible to none but the most observant, was, unfortunately, her demise, and Sarah could only watch in faint horror as it fell at last, cracking. There was the mellow sound of water falling, followed by a high-pitched shriek.

"I'm so sorry!" She reached out, only to falter when the shoulder she was trying to grip _moved_, and the icy-gaze of her victim landed on her. "I didn't mean –!"

"I'm sure you didn't," the woman spoke in perfect English, and Sarah's eyes widened. There was a hint of more than just coolness in that voice. "Nevertheless, you have managed to ruin my favorite blouse."

"Oh, Takada-san, we're so sorry, she's kind of slow~"

Sarah turned to stare at her so-called friends, who were now tittering at the female and handing her wipes. The way they were behaving, it seemed as if they'd met Sarah simply hours ago, instead of the days they'd spend together in class. Unconsciously, her grip on her plate tightened, and she could only watch as they followed the beautiful girl she'd managed to drop her glass on all the way to the bathroom.

Right. So much for this particular friendship.

She found herself scowling as she surveyed the open room in distaste. As luck would have it, there were simply no tables vacant. The low laughter and voices permeated the atmosphere, and when Sarah took a half-hearted step to follow the people she had befriended, finding no other choice, a low voice reached her.

"There is an eighty-five percent chance they don't want you following them."

The speaker was a very familiar face. Sarah knew, that for as long as she lived, she'd never forget the young man crouching on the chair. If it wasn't his unkempt appearance, and tendency to wear the same clothes every day, then it was the fact that he was To-Oh's top freshman, having the honor to share the position with none other than the absolutely dashing Light Yagami.

Hideki Ryuuga. To-Oh's biggest mystery.

"And how did you come to that particular conclusion?" She asked, turning around.

He, too, like Miss To-Oh, could speak flawless English. There wasn't a hint of accent in his voice. "Judging by the way they were quick to abandon any pretense of knowing you, it is a rather accurate assessment."

He was also an _ass_.

There wasn't a hint of doubt in his voice.

It was one thing to think of it – it was quite another to have someone you barely even know put it into words. Sarah found herself frowning. "They didn't abandon me…" But even as she spoke, she could see her friends exit the bathroom, trailing Kiyomi Takada all the way to the other end of the room. It seemed they'd forgotten she was even here.

Ryuuga, too, stared at their retreating backs, before turning to look at her with the most expressionless dark eyes ever. They still managed to convey the '_you idiot'_ Sarah was trying to avoid thinking about.

"Right. Okay. You may be correct." Sarah dropped her bag to the floor to take the seat opposite him, ignoring his stare of creepiness. "But that still doesn't excuse the fact that you gave the event a statistic. How'd you come to that particular conclusion, _Ryuuga-san_?"

Instead of replying to her question, Hideki Ryuuga absently bit his nails. "You know my name."

It wasn't a question as much as it was a statement.

"You're kidding, right? Everyone knows your name," Sarah said, carefully unwrapping her lunch with hesitant fingers. Last time she had tried to do the same, she ended up with a foil-cut. "You're Hideki Ryuuga. Top Freshman."

"That sounds accurate. Since you already have my name, I assume you have no problem giving me yours."

"Sarah Miller," she provided with her mouth half-full with rice. "Foreigner to your exotic land."

"Yes, that much is obvious."

When he didn't say anything more, Sarah looked up and squinted. "So, what classes are you taking?"

"Criminal psychology."

"That sounds interesting." And even though he hadn't asked, she found herself saying, "I'm doing a double-major in Creative Writing along with my standard Physics."

He didn't comment.

Yet, Sarah's lips parted. She didn't want to quite let go of the conversation just yet. "What are your plans after To-Oh, then?"

"Work," he said vaguely, not even bothering to look up anymore.

Which, of course, only served to make her irritated. "Ryuuga-san," she began testily, "_Am I boring you_?"

His head tilted upwards then. "Perhaps."

"Why don't you give me an estimate?" She snapped, with arsenic laced sweetness in her voice. "_Perhaps_ seems to be a bit vague."

"I'm not sure Sarah-san would like the answer," he said a full minute later, a minute she'd spent glaring at him and he'd stared back with the tip of his index finger in his mouth.

"Sarah-san would prefer to know before she makes assumptions regarding this conversation, Ryuuga-san."

This time, there was a vague spark of interest in his otherwise dead eyes. "What sort of assumptions?"

Well, she'd certainly not expected him to ask her _that_. Now uncomfortable, Sarah squirmed in her seat, avoiding his gaze. "Well – I mean, since we're both new… Holding a decent length conversation would mean… we're friends. Right?" She added hastily, when he just looked at her with a weird expression on his face. It was half parts shock, and half curiosity. At least she hoped it was. He was rather difficult to read.

"You'd… consider me a friend?"

He certainly sounded shocked. Sarah nervously traced the patterns on her now empty box. "Well, I suppose. Why not? We've had a decent conversation. I know you're doing criminal psychology, although –," a glare was subtly directed at him, "I don't quite know what you want to achieve by it. And you seem nice." _If a bit weird_, she added in her head.

The deer-in-headlights look hadn't quite abated yet, she noticed with some amusement. "Nice?"

There was a weird choking sound attached to that word. Sarah frowned. "Yeah, nice. Is there something wrong with that?"

He seemed to collect himself at the question. "No, I don't think so, Sarah-san. I would… very much like to be your friend." There was a smile tacked on at the end, and the smile was what made color rise up to her cheeks. Hideki Ryuuga did not deserve to have a smile like that. It was… childish, and innocent, and somehow adorable at the same time.

For the first time ever, she found herself wondering if she'd promised more than she was prepared to deliver.

But then her own lips tugged at the ends, and Sarah found herself grinning.

**{X}**

**A/N: I have a lot of stories pending, but honestly, my muse jumps up and down and left and right. This one has been inspired by this LightXOC story where the OC meets him in college. But since I enjoy L's character more, I though…. Why not. **

**Hope he isn't OOC. **

**Pliz to review.**


	2. Chapter 2

Sarah was having a rather horrible day. Dismally, she stared at the sheet in her hand as she walked, barely even noticing the scores of students waltzing past her in happiness. It was one thing to get a bad grade on your assignment – it was quite another to _fail_. In fact, before coming to To-Oh, she hadn't even imagined anyone could ever fail in Creative Writing. It was Creative Writing, for god's sake! Of course, the big fat D on her paper seemed to disagree.

Frowning, she stuffed it into her bag, trying not to think about it anymore. The paper, bane of her life, got caught between the pristine new books she had just bought, which was why she ended up standing in the middle of the hallway, trying to stuff it in properly. It wouldn't do to have it ruin the nice new pages, after all.

"Seera-san!"

Sarah had taken quite some time to get used to the Japanese pronunciation of her name. Seera Miraa. It sounded stupid as hell. She turned around. "Oh, Takeshi-san. Nice to meet you."

Takeshi Haru grinned amiably. "You forgot your second assignment on your desk, Seera-san." He flicked the paper held between his thumb and forefinger over to her. "And I've told you before, call me Haru."

Sarah blinked, and then caught the offending sheet. This one had a B. Marginally better. "Thank you, Haru-san. I'm sorry you had to go through so much trouble –,"

"It was nothing," he said, gracefully falling in step beside her. "It wasn't like I had to come far or anything, correct?"

"Correct," Sarah confirmed, opening the exit door. The fresh air felt like a balm to her offended self.

"So, Seera-san, I was wondering… Are you doing anything today evening?"

She stilled. Then turned to give him an astonished look. "Are you asking me out, Haru-san?"

His grin was all shades of coy. "Maybe."

"I –," It wasn't that she wasn't flattered. She really, really was. It was just… Haru wasn't quite the boy she had imagined dating. Sure, he was nice, and sweet, and all manners of caring. Sarah paused, and then flashed him a toothy smile. "Sure, Haru-san. I'd love to come."

Socializing, she reminded herself, meant going on dates and talking to people. Holing herself in her room with nothing but books for company would do nothing for her life. It had done nothing for her back home, so it definitely wouldn't do here. Plus, Haru did seem like a nice guy. And it wasn't like she was committing to anything. Right?

Right.

"Good. I'll pick you up after classes then?"

Sarah nodded. "I'll be near the Third building."

Haru waved as he walked away, hands in his pockets. "Sure. See you later, Seera-san!"

"You too!" She called out, laughing a little when he waved too enthusiastically and someone gave him a weird look.

"You sound like you're adjusting well."

It was a very familiar voice. Startled, Sarah spun on her feet, almost dropping her bag in shock. It wouldn't have been a far-fetched idea to say that she looked like she just saw a ghost. As far as she was concerned, Hideki Ryuuga was a ghost. One she had conveniently made up when there was no one else to talk to.

"R-Ryuuga-san?"

"Hello, Sarah-san. It has been long, hasn't it?" His voice was mild, and he looked the same as ever. White shirt, framing what she guessed was a lean chest, and the customary blue jeans. His hands were stuffed into his pocket, and upon standing, he hunched. Terrible, terrible posture.

"W-what?" Suffice to say, Sarah wasn't feeling particularly eloquent. Hurriedly, she schooled her face to a more convincing expression. "What are you doing here?"

Ryuuga blinked. "I came to see you."

Sarah's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"After I don't see you for over a week?" She pointed an accusing finger at his chest. "What's your deal anyway? I've searched high and low for you. I even checked all the Criminal Psychology classes to see if you were there!"

Then, she paused. It might've sounded a tad too rude, after all. "Were you… were you ill or something?"

He absently thumbed his lower lip. His eyes were wide and the circles beneath them jarred harshly against his pale, alabaster skin. "You… searched for me?"

"Of course!" Sarah threw her hands in the air to emphasize the point. "Well, at least I tried..."

Ryuuga perched upon the bench behind him. The strands of his forever-messy hair fell like ink splotches on his white shirt. Hesitantly, Sarah took the seat opposite him. "So, how have you been?"

"How have I been?" He echoed absently, gaze fixed firmly ahead. "Fine, I suppose."

"_O_-kay." He was rather hard to talk to, now that she noticed. Finding a stroke of inspiration, Sarah dug out her horrible assignment, smoothed the crinkles, and slammed it in the space between them. "I've been having the worse day ever. I failed! In Creative Writing! How horrible is that?"

He glanced at the sheet, a cursory glance at best. "Maybe you should put more effort in your assignments."

Sarah bristled. While she generally appreciated honesty, this was just plain rude. How would he know whether she put effort in it or not? And for the record, she had. Her brow crinkled. "I did look at it, goddamnit! It isn't my fault I managed to misinterpret the guidelines!"

"There's no need to get angry, Sarah-san. I'm merely stating a fact. If you give more attention to it, then I'm sure you'll do better."

That was… surprisingly not rude. It also somehow made sense. Mollified, she shrunk into her seat, pulling up her own legs. If Ryuuga could go around sitting like that and still garner respect from more than half of the student population, then so could she, really. "I'm just feeling bad about it, is all," She said, her voice now softer than the sound of the leaves that crumpled around them. "I hadn't expected to fail…"

"It's just one assignment." This time, he did look at her, and maybe something in her dull expression struck a chord in him. She'd never know. Sarah had never pegged Ryuuga to be the kind that bothered with social cues.

"Yes, but I _never_ fail." It was the age-old argument of a student used to doing well. Or at least, well enough. There had never been a moment in her life where she had anticipated a D. To get one in something she considered herself relatively proficient in… It was _crushing_.

"Sarah-san…" Ryuuga began, and she detected a note of hesitation in his voice. It somehow jarred with the rest of him. Her eyes snapped up to meet his. "May I offer a piece of advice?"

Her eyes widened. "O-Of course."

"Perhaps you should try having some cake."

"Cake?"

"I have come to the conclusion that a person is usually feels better after having some." He continued, and to her utmost surprise, smiled. It was that same smile – the one she had seen last time. Childish, and cute, and adorable, and extremely heart-wrenching. It lit up his entire face, and somehow even banished the shadows beneath his eyes. "Sweets stimulate endorphin levels in your body and that will make you happy."

Sarah blinked twice. Rapidly. "But… I don't know of any place that gives you good cake!"

"How can you not know of any such place, Sarah-san?" If she didn't know any better, she'd say his voice was slightly shocked. Very, very slightly. In fact, so little that nobody would even pick up on it. Sarah only figured because his face was now inches from her, eyes big and wide.

"I – I'm new here, and I haven't been out exploring yet, so…"

It didn't seem that Ryuuga was convinced by her argument at all. His face, still expressionless, withdrew, and he absently bit his nails. "Sarah-san should try the Fujimoto Coffee Shop next to To-Oh." His voice was flat. "It has the most delicious Chocolate cake."

"Well, then, when you put it like that," Sarah grinned, picking up her bag, and rose to her full height, which was about five feet five inches. "Maybe you should take me there?"

His head tilted upwards to look at her. "Is Sarah-san asking me to take her there now?"

"Obviously." And then, worried she was being too forward, Sarah added hastily: "If you're not doing anything else, I mean."

His impassive eyes swept over the empty grounds, leaving Sarah to shift on her feet nervously. There was just something about Ryuuga – something which led her to believe there were a hundred thousand things running behind the emotionless face. It wasn't odd, per se, it was just unsettling. Somehow, it felt like he analyzed everything he said, did – even everything other people said or did. She wondered if he was analyzing her right now.

At last, he blinked, and looked up at the sky, hands clasped over his knees. "Perhaps some other day, Sarah-san. I happen to be… waiting for someone."

"Oh," Sarah blinked, and then frowned. "But you said you came to see me!"

Ryuuga's eyes shifted to her. "I never said that was the only reason."

"I –," Sarah wasn't dumb enough to know when a person was trying to be evasive. And was contradicting his own words. She placed one hand on her hip. "You're very confusing, Ryuuga-san. In fact, one would even say you're trying to get rid of me."

"That assumption is correct."

Sarah's eyes widened. "W-what?"

He, too, stood up. A single fluid gesture, and stuffed his hands in his pocket. "I seem to have found the person I was searching for."

She followed his gaze straight ahead, to Light Yagami, who was walking out with a smile on his face. He was walking with a group of people – people she didn't know and would probably never know either. She had never been the popular kind.

"I suppose we shall meet later, Sarah-san."

He started moving, and impulsively, Sarah grabbed his arm, not even noticing that he had stiffened. "When shall I see you again, Ryuuga-san?" And then, because his eyes were on her, and his gaze was so disconcerting, she added: "You still have to take me to Fujimoto, you know. I'm not letting you out of that easily."

His eyes moved, from her face, to the hand that was holding his arm. "I cannot make any promises, Sarah-san. I… shall see you when I can."

That was enough for Sarah. She didn't quite know why – but it was.

She dropped his arm and lowered her head. "Well then. Goodbye Ryuuga-san."

He didn't reply so much in words, but his gaze lingered on her for a few seconds before moving away. She wondered what he saw – an overenthusiastic, slightly desperate-for-friends girl who had forcefully latched herself onto him… or a friend? Probably the former. To be honest, she didn't know why she wanted to be friends with him anyway. She supposed he did have this magnetic charm – the kind you notice only when you've been shunned by society and he's the only person left to turn to.

He was… interesting.

And wasn't that, she thought drily, turning away from the sight of the two Top Freshmen, just the problem?

**{X}**

**A/N: To be honest, this story started as an attempt to have a few interactions between the OC and L. And somehow, now there's this vague plot in my head. It even includes Death Note and Shinigami. Odd, right?**

**AND OMG REVIEWERS AND PEOPLE WHO LIKED/FOLLOWED.**

**The response was overwhelming. Jaw-dropping.**

**In fact, I'm slightly afraid this chapter isn't even up to par.**

**Oops?**


	3. Chapter 3

"You know," Sarah took an indelicate sip of water, not bothering to apologize when most of it fell past her throat into her shirt, "You should at least submit your assignments. I mean, grades are important."

"I don't need to." Haru's voice had a slight edge of smug in it. "I have a cushy editing job waiting for me as soon I graduate. In fact, getting into To-Oh was one of the only requirements I had to fulfill!" He paused for a moment to take a sip from his own glass. "Plus, I don't appreciate being graded on my writing. It feels wrong. One person can't be the judge of my stories."

It was their second date in two weeks. While the first one wasn't bad, it wasn't great either. Sarah didn't know why she had agreed to a repeat. So far, Haru and she had done nothing but argue about the merits of studying. Her physics outlook clashed greatly with his ideas, and while she might be failing in her classes, he simply didn't submit his assignments at all. It was… wrong.

"Well, I suppose you're right," she agreed, deciding to drop the topic. There was nothing further to discuss that hadn't already been rehashed in the past half-an-hour. Her eyes flickered. "Say, isn't that Light Yagami?"

Haru followed her gaze over to the next table, where Light sat politely with a very familiar face. Sarah snapped her fingers when it clicked. "Kiyomi Takada!" Her brow crinkled. "I didn't know they were dating."

"And I didn't know you indulged in gossip."

Her eyes snapped back at him. There was nothing but the same politeness in his gaze, but she detected an undertone of judgment nevertheless. Her lips pursed. "It isn't gossip – it's pure speculation. As it is, you know as well as I do that I haven't found enough friends in To-Oh for me to be going around listening to the rumor mill."

"Oh, I see," he said, when it was plain that he did anything but.

Sarah's voice returned to its previous coolness. "Is there… something you want to say to me, Haru-san?"

"Not at all." The reply was quick and stilted. "I was merely wondering if you were in the mood for dessert."

Sarah stared at him for a few more lingering seconds before scanning the menu. The Chocolate Cake leaped out at her, but she remembered the pale face and the big eyes. She picked up her purse. "No. I'm not. Kind of stuffed, actually."

Later, as they walked in the waning sunlight, Sarah found herself rethinking the whole date. There was silence in his eyes, and soberness in hers, and between them, a storm of unspoken words. She thought, a little regretfully, that it was better if she'd never agreed to his offer. They could have been good friends. Maybe.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Sarah looked up. Haru was looking at her, with quiet, expectant eyes. Once again, she found herself revisiting the past few hours. Were they really that bad? She recalled laughing at something inconsequential he had said, and the tartness of the strawberry shake in her mouth. The atmosphere had been light, jovial. It wasn't a bad date, she concluded. But there was something wrong if she felt no urge to press herself against him even once. A low laugh escaped her lips. She was just nineteen. She was just nineteen, and it felt like the weight of the world rested on her shoulders. _How cynical, Sarah._

"Sarah-san?" After much convincing, he had tried to call her 'Sarah'. It still didn't come out properly though.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I drifted away for a few seconds." Her lips quirked. "I was just thinking about the trees. I've never seen the Sakura in bloom."

He looked up, at the vast branches that hung about their head. "It's almost time for them to start." She halted her steps when he ran back a little and picked up a small bud. "In fact, they should bloom by tomorrow. You'll see a world of pink when you open your eyes tomorrow, Sarah-san."

Carefully, he dropped the bud in her hands. It had the barest hints of pink and white. "It's beautiful," she said, her voice low. And it was. It might not have bloomed yet, but there was still beauty in the curled petals.

"That it is."

Sarah paused, lifted her hand to her lips, and blew softly. The bud fluttered in the air before falling to the ground a few meters away. She turned to the boy beside her. "This is my stop."

"Yes," he said, his eyes guarded. Then he stepped forward, slowly, cautiously, and gently pushed away a wayward strand of brown hair. Sarah's breath hitched when he leaned ahead, one hand tangled in her locks, the other pulling her forward by the waist.

And he brushed his lips against hers before straightening.

"I apologize if that was too forward, Sarah-san." In the glittering light, his eyes were hazel. "I just wanted to try that once before you shoot me down."

There was, she realized, understanding in his eyes, and her cheeks flared red as she acknowledged that her face might be more transparent than she thought it was. It was one of her many faults – this jarring openness. Her mother had always said an open heart was easily breakable.

Sarah smiled, and then extended her hand. "Friends?"

He captured it in one of his much larger ones, and nodded determinedly. "Friends."

**{X}**

"Tennis?" Sarah frowned at the racket being proffered to her. "Why would I want to play tennis?"

Haru seemed utterly unperturbed by her sour face. "Because I need someone to play with. Besides," he added, drawing one casual arm around her shoulder and unsubtly steering her towards the court, "You could do with the exercise. Going a bit on the heavy side, aren't you?"

"E-excuse you!"She sputtered at the comment, shoving him away. "I'm not fat! And I can't be your partner. I don't know how to play tennis!"

Haru flashed a smug smile – and now that she wasn't 'dating' him, it didn't irritate her half as much. "I'll teach you. What are friends for?"

"You can't teach me a sport in one day!"

"I can try!"

"Have you even seen me, Haru?" Sarah added, a tad desperately when it became clear he wasn't going to let it go, and the courts neared more and more, "I cut myself using foil. I can't walk on the straight floor properly. Sports are one thing I cannot do!"

"Oh, come on. Stop being such a baby."

Another yank, and Sarah almost went stumbling down the stairs. Thankfully, Haru seemed to realize at the last moment that she was just about to fall, so he pulled her back. That didn't mean he didn't usher her down the steps bossily though. "It'll be fun! What's the worst – _oh_."

Oh, indeed. Sarah's eyes widened at the crowd, and before she knew it, Haru managed to maneuver them through it to the front. There was a large crowd that surrounded the court, people were cheering and the forms in front of her were a huge blur. Eventually, though, her vision settled, and she let out a gasp of surprise -Ryuuga and Yagami? Their eyes were narrowed in concentration, and they were sprinting through the court like they were having their own personal war. In fact, if she didn't know any better, she'd say they were using the match to prove a point.

_Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! _

Even Sarah, with her less than perfect knowledge about tennis, could tell that they were both really, really good.

"They're brilliant!" Haru whispered, voicing her thoughts. She could see an edge of excitement in his eyes. His grip around his racket had tightened, as if he too was in the game. And perhaps, from seeing his unfocused eyes, he was.

"You won't believe this!" There was a shout from behind, and Sarah turned to see a guy come running down the steps, sounding out of breath. "I thought the name Light Yagami sounded familiar, so I checked. He was the 2003 Junior High Tennis Champion! Apparently, during the third year award ceremony, he had announced he was hanging up his racket. And I guess he hasn't played competitively since!"

Wow. Champion? That was… incredible. Sarah turned to look at the guy. Looks, brains and even athletic ability. Was there anything Light Yagami didn't have?

"H-hey! What about my Ryuuga?" Sarah's eyebrow rose when she saw the girl who had spoken. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed him holding his own against this former Junior High Champ?"

There was a grunt of assent by one of the other guys, and Sarah scanned the court again. They were still going at it, with no signs of relenting. It was rather surprising to see Ryuuga play so well – the guy hunched, for heaven's sake. There was nothing about him that suggested even a hint that he could even hold a racket, let alone operate it the way he was.

_Thwack! _

Sarah flinched when the ball landed a bit too close, and from across the court, Light yelled out a half-inaudible apology. As is the nature of games, since it was the end of a set, eyes swiveled towards them, and amidst those eyes were the one's of a certain Hideki Ryuuga. Perhaps he had seen her come in (though she doubted it), but his gaze landed straight at her, and uncomfortably, she gave a short wave that very few people noticed. His eyes were blank as he turned away; back to give his attention to the game.

A soft nudge in her stomach. "Do you know Ryuuga?" It was the girl who had spoken before, the one with soft eyes and spectacles. She shuffled on her feet slightly before adding: "Are you friends with him?"

What an odd question. Were they friends? In technicality, yes. In reality, no. Ryuuga and she didn't quite do normal friendship, did they? Hell, she didn't even know what he did.

"Um… Sort of. I mean, I've spoken to him once or twice."

"Oh my god, really? You're so lucky!~"

"… I wouldn't put it that way." Sarah murmured, but the girl only smiled.

Another nudge. This girl really needed to learn the meaning of personal space. "So, tell me about him! Isn't he just the cutest?"

Cutest? That wasn't the word Sarah would use to describe him. Almost absently, she glanced at him. At the long, unkempt hair, the pale profile, the same clothes, and blinked. He wasn't cute. He was… Ryuuga. How to describe him?

"He's certainly something, I'll give you that," she muttered softly, and the girl seemed to take it as encouragement, for she sidled closer.

"I'm Koneko, by the way! Nice to meet you."

"Like… a cat?"

The girl let out a small giggle. "What can I say? My parents have a weird sense of humor."

"I'm Sarah, though. Nice to meet you too."

"Se-ra?"

"No, um... Just call me Seera, yeah?

"Alright, Seera-san! Oh look, it's the last set!"

And it was. Tensions were running high, both on the court and off it. Over the edge, Sarah noticed a few hands exchanging money, and rolled her eyes. The common college policy – make money wherever and whenever. Light and Ryuuga were sprinting across the court, and showed no signs of tiring at all. In fact, they seemed more into it then ever.

_Thwack!_

The ball went soaring over the net, and even Sarah leaned forward in anticipation. It sailed over, and Ryuuga took a step to the right, and –

"Game and set!"

He missed it.

"Won by Light Yagami! Six games to four!"

"Oh no!" Koneko exclaimed, hands clasped to her chest as people began clapping, and Sarah was stunned to realize that there was a small burn of disappointment in her chest as well. She had hoped Ryuuga would win.

_And why shouldn't I? He's my friend!_

"That was just…" Haru seemed to come out of his daze, and as he straightened, he grabbed Sarah's hand. "Come on! Let's go congratulate them!"

"I don't think that's a good –,"

"Ryuuga-san! Yagami-san! That was the best match I've ever seen! Congratulations!" He dragged her along with him even as he called out to the two, and probably sensing an opportunity, Koneko came too. Sarah was amused to note a soft blush on her cheeks. "You both play excellently!"

"Thank you…"

"Takeshi Haru," Haru supplied instantly, dropping Sarah's hand instantly to shake that of Light Yagami's. "Pleased to meet you."

"Takeshi-san." Light flashed an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous smile, and Sarah found herself blinking as an unwilling blush rose to her cheeks as well when he turned to her. "And you are?"

"S-Sarah. Sarah Miller."

"I'm Koneko! Yoshida Koneko!" Koneko's shy gaze travelled to his silent companion. "You played really well too, Ryuuga-san!"

"Hm?" Ryuuga looked up from the racket he was inspecting, and gave her a cursory glance. He was, Sarah noted, back to hunching. "Thank you." He then turned to Light, ignoring the entire group. "Shall we, Light-kun?"

"Oh, yes, of course. I'll just take a moment to get changed. I'll meet you outside, Ryuuga." With that, Light gave another one of his patented, should-be-illegal smiles, and walked off to the direction of the changing rooms.

There was brief moment of awkward pause, wherein Sarah didn't look at Ryuuga and he didn't look at her. Koneko looked too disappointed by her obvious dismissal to do anything but shuffle awkwardly and burn bright red. Thankfully, Haru stepped in. "Ryuuga-san! I've been meaning to ask you… How do you play so well?"

"It's been a while, but at one point, I was the British Junior Champion, Takeshi-san," He was completely monotone while stating this. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have somewhere else to be."

He began walking, and before Sarah's brain caught up with her feet, she surged forward, leaving Haru and Koneko behind. "Ryuuga-san!" she greeted cheerfully, falling into step beside him. From behind, Haru called out something, and she waved at him dismissively. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!"

Massive understatement. It had been at least two weeks.

"Sarah-san," he acknowledged, thumb in his mouth. He didn't look particularly excited by her insistence to talk to him, but she doubted he looked excited to see anyone, to be honest. "To be precise, it has only been one week and four days."

Something worriedly giddy erupted in her chest at his words. Something that Sarah pointedly squashed before saying: "So you've been keeping count?"

His dark eyes shifted to her. "I was merely making an observation. I last visited To-Oh on Thursday. Today is Monday."

Oh, look at that. The thing in her chest didn't even need to be squashed. Ryuuga killed it faster than he could've using a pesticide. Sarah blinked. "Hang on, you're saying that this is the only time you've come to To-Oh so far?"

"Yes."

"But… what about your classes? Don't you have to attend those?"

"My work keeps me too busy to be able to attend classes, I'm afraid." His voice was flat. Sarah shifted on her feet anxiously. It was times like this she felt she was crossing a line. It felt as if Hideki Ryuuga didn't like being questioned. He just gave off that vibe.

Her lips pursed. Well, he could just deal with it then. "What work do you do anyway? I don't think I have any idea about it."

Ryuuga's eyes fixed themselves on her face, and Sarah found herself almost shrinking into her shoes. He was… How to put it? Scary, when he looked at her like that. Finally, he said, "Why would you wish to know?"

"I –," What sort of question was that? Didn't he say they were friends? Or had she hallucinated the whole incident? Sarah frowned. "Friends generally know that much about each other, Ryuuga-san. I mean, I'm only asking you what work you do. Not where you live or something stalker-ish like that."

There was a long pause. A long, uncomfortable, fraught with tension kind of pause, during which they continued walking in silence. They certainly made a weird pair, though. Her, with her brown hair, bright eyes and casual smile, him, with his black locks, pale skin, and dark circles. Night and day, Sarah concluded. Sunset and sunrise.

Finally, when she least expected him to talk, he said: "Light-kun is waiting for me, Sarah-san." She followed his eyes to where Light stood, a little to the right. "Perhaps later." He turned towards him, hands in his pockets.

Like before, she was struck by the urge to grab his hand and say something. Instead, she clamped her lips together, and threw her pride to the wind. "You know, Ryuuga-san, something else just struck my mind."

Ryuuga stilled.

"And that is?"

"Friends hang out with each other, Ryuuga-san. They makes plans, they go to places together. They don't just simply leave meeting up to chance."

There was, Sarah noted wildly, an eighty-five percent chance that he would make some vague statements and she would never see him again.

But Ryuuga surprised her by saying: "I shall keep that in mind, Sarah-san."

Somehow, she felt like she had just scored a major victory. n fact, she even felt like playing a little tennis, _just_.

A worrying thought, if there was ever one.

**{X}**

"So, you and Ryuuga, huh?" Haru asked once she got back. He was looking back at the vacant bench she had just been occupying, and spying an opportunity, Sarah smacked the back of his head with her book. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"For being too nosy for your own good," she declared primly, before pulling him by his sleeve. "Come on. Let's go! We have class in ten."

"You're avoiding my question," he groaned, but got up anyway, and fell into step beside her. His eyes remained fixed on her face, and Sarah shuffled on the balls of her feet, suddenly nervous.

"A friend. He's just a friend."

Again, there was that spark of understanding in Haru's eyes. Sarah pointedly looked away. Curse that non-existent poker face of hers. It was unfair that everything she felt was on her sleeve.

"Just a friend, huh?" He teased lightly, elbowing her arm. At Sarah's indignant glower, he backed off with a small smile. "Just looking out for you, Sarah-chan. It would be highly unfair if you started dating anyone without my express permission, y'know."

"Oh? And pray, why do I need your permission?"

"As your previous flame, it is my right to pass judgment."

"Haru!"

**{X}**

Meanwhile, at night, at the hospital Watari had just opened the door for a thoughtful L, who was chewing his thumb as he walked. Something in his expression must've given it away, for the elderly man had scarcely started the engine, before turning around to look at his charge.

"Ryuzaki?"

It was testament to the bond between them that he didn't need to say anymore at all.

L looked up, meeting his eyes in the mirror. "Everything's going as planned, Watari. I met Light-kun today, and the possibility to him being Kira has risen by two percent."

"… I see. Pardon me for being so intrusive, Ryuzaki, it's just that… you seem a bit…" He trailed off, unable to vocalize the various doubts running in his head. L did indeed look a bit preoccupied, and knowing him the way Watari did, it wasn't just by the Kira case. Perhaps it was Yagami's heart attack that troubled the young detective?

"Everything's fine," L said dismissively, content in picking up the packet of sweets placed near his seat. After a moment of careful chewing, he said: "Although, I would be grateful if you prepared a file with information regarding Sarah Miller at the earliest."

Watari's eyes widened.

A girl?

However, he didn't give voice to the suspicion running in his head. Instead: "Is she also a suspect in the Kira case?"

"No." There was silence for a few blissful minutes. And then, L almost gave Watari a heart-attack by saying casually: "She's a student I met at To-Oh."

And then, as if that wasn't enough, he added: "She called me her friend."

**{X}**

**A/N: I'm not too happy with this chapter. But knowing me, I never will be. This will be the one where I keep coming back to edit. It doesn't... flow.**

**However, thanks to all the people who liked this story. Y'all are awesome.**


	4. Chapter 4

To-Oh was abuzz with rumor, speculation and debates. The Kira spectacle on Sakura TV had left everyone reeling, and all anyone could be seen talking about was whether Kira was a God, or as his name suggested, yet another killer. There were several devout believers, and at the other end of the spectrum, hardcore haters. Some people said that there was a reason God had stopped caring about the human world – the others didn't care. God was finally doing something to punish the wrongdoers.

In a distant corner of the library, Sarah put down her pen thoughtfully after applying the finishing touches to her thesis. "You know, if he hadn't killed that police officer just to make a statement, I wouldn't mind Kira so much."

From across the table, both Koneko and Haru frowned. They were all seated on a circular table, doing their work when the discussion had started. Or perhaps, more accurately, Haru had started it.

"I don't think so. The police are interfering with God's work, Sarah. He _needs_ to make a statement." This was Haru – a self-proclaimed fan of the God of the New World. While Sarah's loyalties shifted on the spectrum, both Haru and Koneko believed that Kira was doing no wrong. Well, one more than other, as evidenced when Koneko looked up.

"No, I think Sarah-chan is right. I mean, think about it… Kira is supposed to kill only criminals. If he starts killing the innocents, then he might be killing you or me next!"

The mere notion made him scoff good-naturedly. "Oh, don't be stupid, Koneko-chan. unless you're a dangerous criminal, I'm sure all of us are safe from Kira."

Sarah gathered her books during the small lull that followed, her brow furrowed. While she admitted that Kira might be needed, it also kind of depended on who Kira was, didn't it? What if he was just another human? No human could be God. No human could ever be impartial enough to make correct judgments all the time. She knew better than to voice the opinion, though. Haru was liable to chew her head off.

"Say, don't you think we should head out?" She said instead, rising to her feet. The books were clutched tightly to her chest. "I mean, it's late. I think I want to go home."

Koneko seemed relieved that the topic had been dropped. Her eyes flickered behind her specs. "Right you are, Sarah-chan. Just give me a moment."

Sarah waited patiently at the door until the other joined her. Somehow, the three had become a group since the tennis match. It was a rather odd group though. There was Haru, with his outspoken personality and relatively good looks, Koneko, with her shy smiles and specs, and Sarah, the foreigner. Still, it wasn't a bad group, she concluded. They looked out for each other, even if they were all pursuing different avenues for their futures.

"You guys want to head out for lunch?" Haru asked as he passed seamlessly through the door. "I'm kind of hungry."

The glass door almost hit Sarah on the way out, and she fumbled behind for a few seconds before scurrying forward. "I don't think so. I think I'll just go home and make some food."

"Yeah, me too." Koneko agreed. "I'm actually kind of broke."

"Seconded." Sarah added wearily. She was tired of being out of money all the time. If she spent on groceries, then she couldn't eat out. If she ate out, she couldn't buy things for home. It had become this vicious cycle she was unable to break out of. In fact, she had been losing weight rapidly because of her unhealthy eating habits.

"Aw, you guys, _c'mon_! Live a little!"

"Hey, wait a second!" Koneko exclaimed as they passed the Social Studies block. "Isn't that….!"

Both Haru and Sarah followed her pointed finger to the figure on the path.

"Misa-Misa!" Haru shouted at the same time Sarah said: "Ryuuga-san?"

"Oh my god, let's go! It's Misa!" Koneko almost ran forward to the trio standing in the middle of the path, followed by an enthusiastic Haru. Sarah could only blink as she started gushing to the idol about how amazing she was. It seemed as if Koneko had even forgotten Ryuuga was there. Maybe she was finally getting over the crush, as she kept claiming.

"No way! Somebody just touched my butt!"

It was the idol's high-pitched voice that rang in the air, and Sarah had a sneaking suspicion as to who had just touched her butt, for Ryuuga's hand was still in the air. The man, in question, looked wide-eyed at the model before saying in the most expressive voice Sarah had heard him use till date: "This is an outrage!"

He plodded over to stand next to Misa, hands moving swiftly around him.

"Taking advantage of the situation is absolutely unforgivable! I will find who is responsible for this." The last sentence was said with a raised finger, as if he had made his own personal promise.

Misa only giggled at the words. "Oh, Ryuuga, you're so funny!"

Everyone started laughing, and Sarah's eyebrow rose when Ryuuga started scratching the back of his head sheepishly – wait a minute, was that just a smile she saw?

_Oh my god, he has a crush on the model, doesn't he? _

Sarah frowned, feeling quite a bit put-off. She hadn't expected him to be _that_ kind of shallow person. She knew, at the same time, that she was being judgmental, but he seemed above things like having a crush on a model. Ryuuga was… _Ryuuga_. He was different, special. He wasn't supposed to – before that train of thought could take off, a sharp voice rang in the air.

"Misa!"

A strict looking woman barged straight in, almost shoving Sarah out of the way. For a moment, she teetered between that edge of falling and not-falling, until a firm hand grasped her elbow.

"It's time! Or were you planning to be late again?"

It was Ryuuga who had caught her just as she was about to fall. His other thumb was hooked around his lip as he peered at her with dark eyes.

"R-Ryuuga!" Sarah stuttered a bit, finally regaining her balance. "Thanks for that."

"You should be more careful of your surroundings, Sarah-san."

Sarah felt the familiar twinges of embarrassment creeping up. "Um… No, I usually am. I mean – yeah! I'll try." Her cheeks burned red. Since when had she started stuttering around Ryuuga?

_Since now, obviously. _

"Sarah! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, that bitch basically steamrolled past you, didn't she?"

It was Haru and Koneko. Ryuuga's hand was still at her elbow, steadying her, and all eyes fell at the same time to the white colored sleeve.

There was a pregnant pause, and then Sarah had the misfortune to witness firsthand the familiar flare of mischievousness behind Haru's eyes.

"Oh ho! _Ryuuga_-san helped you, did he?" Promptly, he directed a very obvious wink at her. "Looks like you're in good hands then, Sarah-_chan_."

And then, as if the situation wasn't awkward enough, Light Yagami had to provide his two cents, with a grin on his face. "Yeah, Ryuuga. You sure saved the day today." Something vaguely amused flashed behind his eyes at the word.

Ryuuga's dark eyes flickered. "Perhaps." he said quietly, dropping the arm. Sarah felt an instant loss of heat.

"Oh, you've been _very_ helpful, Ryuuga-san."

Haru was a _git_, Sarah realized, as she was struck with an urge to slap his smug face. But instead of giving in to her baser urges, she turned to the savior, pointedly not meeting his eyes. "Thanks again, Ryuuga." Firmly, she grabbed Haru's sleeve and Koneko's hand and began dragging them away. "We'll be going now. See you two later!"

Light vaguely said goodbye, but Sarah was too busy seething to even hear him. When they were out of earshot of the two that she rounded on Haru and poked his chest furiously. "What the hell was that? What were you trying to prove?!"

Haru only laughed harder in response, raising his hands as if trying to show he was innocent – which he _wasn't_. "What do you mean, Sarah-chan? Perhaps you mean the fact that you were blushing like a schoolgirl around him? Man, I've never seen you redder!"

"Shut up!"

"Sarah-chan?" A timid try by Koneko. "Do you perhaps… like Ryuuga-san?"

"Oh my god shut up!"

**{X}**

Her phone was ringing. It startled Sarah out of her reverie, and she flinched slightly before realizing the cause of the commotion. After flipping the cover open, she pressed it to her ear with a wide smile. "Dad! I was just thinking about you. It's been ages since you've called!"

The voice at the other end sounded tired, but there were undercurrents of happiness nevertheless. "Sarah, honey, I'm so sorry – I've been really busy –,"

"With work, yeah, I know," she interjected, absently twirling the pen between her fingers. It was always the same excuse. Over time, it had become predictable. Stale, even. "How have you been? Not staying up too late, I hope!"

"I'm fine. The better question is, how have you been? I missed hearing your voice, sweetheart. Emails only do so much to capture your essence."

At the other end of the line, Sarah rolled her eyes fondly. This was her dad – sometimes overtly emotional, sometimes poetic. After her mother had died, her dad had been left with a huge responsibility, and even larger shoes to fill. Yet, Sarah couldn't quite say she had missed out much. Her bond with her father was close enough to get her by, even if sometimes, she woke up to the feel of a feminine hand tracing her straight locks.

"I've been busy," she told him honestly, setting the pencil down. Her head fell on the bench with a soft thud. "Japan is… Well, they're all very hard-working and formal and perfect. So I've been trying to fit in. I've made some good friends though."

"Really? That's nice. What're their names?"

"Not telling ya," Somewhere on the field, there were sounds of loud, exuberant cheering. "I don't want you doing random check-ins on them."

"Sarah, I'm your father, I –,"

"Yes, yes. You worry. But no, I'm not allowing you to use your vast police resources to try and sniff out my new mates. It's embarrassing and rude!"

There was a soft sigh, and her phone crackled. "Alright, _fine_. Just be careful, alright? This insistence of yours to attend University at Tokyo has already caused enough grey hairs to appear on my scalp. What was wrong with the colleges here, again?"

"I told you, Daddy," Sarah muttered, slipping off her bench when she spied Koneko walking in the opposite direction, "I've always wanted to come to Japan. I mean, I didn't just learn the language for kicks, y'know." She pushed the phone away from her mouth slightly. "Koneko, hey - Koneko!"

The girl turned, and Sarah grinned at her, raising one finger in the universal sign of _give me one second_. Koneko nodded, and promptly leaned against the wall, her cellphone out.

"Sarah?"

"I'm here, Dad. Sorry, I just met someone. So, what else is on? How's the precinct? Up and kicking?"

"Everything's fine," her father said dismissively, "You worry too much."

"What about the whole Kira business? You guys found any leads on that?"

Once again, her father exhaled heavily, and Sarah winced. She knew her father hated talking about Kira. To him, the God was nothing but a menace. And yet... She never failed to ask.

"We've dropped that investigation, Sarah, you know that. Ever since that L guy showed up…"

L. Yet another thorn on her father's side. To Sarah, L was a dashing figure, not quite young, but not that old either. Perhaps he'd have some distinguished strands of grey in his hair, along with a deep, gravelly voice and an IQ that rivaled that of Einstein's. Scratch that, he probably surpassed Einstein. She remembered that TV broadcast that had played on repeat on almost everyone's phone merely hours after its showing. The very public showdown between Kira and L. How L had caught Kira and _goaded_ him into killing. It was reckless.

It was brave.

She and her father had spent hours arguing over that particular incident. While her father saw L as something that subjugated the police and made them look like idiots, Sarah only saw him as a mysterious denizen that was out to get Kira. Though, at the same time, while her father thoroughly opposed Kira, Sarah felt his need. Kira was needed. Perhaps not wanted, but in some cases, he was needed.

_The edges of a coin_, she had concluded. _Always on opposing sides, always struggling for dominance. _

"That's too bad," she said after a pause, a pause long enough for Koneko to look up hopefully. "Anyway, Dad, I'm gonna go, okay? Friend waiting and all."

"Alright Sarah-bear, take care. And don't accept candy from strangers."

Sarah's nose crinkled amusedly at the nickname, but she blew him a kiss anyway.

"Your boyfriend?"

Her eyes snapped open, horror-struck. "No! My father!"

Koneko giggled softly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just thought…"

"We're really close," Sarah offered, shoving her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. "I mean, since Mum died and all, Dad was all I had, and I was all he had, so…"

"That's tough," Koneko's eyes flickered. "But I think you made out okay." There was a teasing smile attached to the last word, and Sarah obliged her with a smile of her own.

"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I _think_ I'm okay too."

"Nah, you're okay," Koneko murmured, softly nudging her shoulder.

"I'm okay." Sarah agreed firmly, shouldering her bag.

**{X}**

Around a month later, Sarah's face was somber as she scanned the sheet in front of her. Right opposite, Haru had his face propped up lazily against his knuckles while Koneko had begun nitpicking her skirt. There was an aura of seriousness around the three.

"I think I've made up my mind," Sarah announced after an intense five minutes perusal, setting down the laminated sheet. "I'm going to have the chocolate éclair."

"_Finally_!" Haru groaned, signaling to the waiter. "We thought you'd never make up your mind."

"Haru-kun, you know Sarah-chan likes to observe each item on the menu before ordering."

"You mean she likes to take it apart in her brain before deciding what she wants."

"… It's the same thing," Koneko retorted.

"Nope. Isn't." Haru said stubbornly, before turning to the waiter who seemed to have appeared by magic. "We'd like two chocolate éclairs and one blueberry scone."

After he'd written down the order and walked away, Sarah whipped out her notebook and started jotting down the amount she had to pay. "So, what do you guys think? Will it make me broke for the month or not?"

"You and money," Haru muttered, rolling his eyes. "Loosen up a little!"

Sarah frowned, even as Koneko's lips parted. "We've had this discussion before, Haru-kun. Sarah-chan and I need to spend in a limit."

"Yes, but that limit is getting more ridiculous by the day. Oh, look, the food's here!"

And it was. It looked delicious too. Sarah sniffed at her éclair appreciatively before digging in. For a few blissful minutes, the only sounds were that of their spoons clinking against the plate. It tasted as delicious as it looked, and satisfied, Sarah leaned back in her chair before depositing the money on the bill.

"Let's leave?" Koneko asked lightly, drawing back her chair. There was an aura of contention around her as well.

"That's the best food I've had in a long time," Sarah concurred, picking up her purse. There was a grunt of assent from Haru as he held the door open, and all three slid out happily.

Haru patted his tummy accordingly. "Hmm. I think I should get going now, though. It's late."

On cue, all three directed wary glances at the dark sky, before breaking off. Sarah walked in one direction, waving goodbye, while the other two walked in the other. She hummed cheerfully as she walked. Try as she might, she was a bit of a foodie. Or more accurately, she liked food. Well-prepared food. Expensive food, even. Which was a bit sad considering how broke she was all the time. But now, since the month had just started, she had decided to indulge, and despite the soft burn of regret somewhere in her brain, her heart skipped happily.

It had been a rather nice day.

Of course, the mere thought was jinxed for Sarah. For barely had the words formed in her mind when she tripped over something on the ground and went flying through the air to land on her face. After making sure her injuries were minor, she turned around to glare at the offending object.

It was a notebook.

Slightly ashamed of falling over a notebook, of all things, she carefully dusted her clothes and went over to pick it up.

It was black, thin, and curiously empty, which Sarah realized when she started flipping the pages.

Her eyes dropped to the cover.

It was pitch-black, and completely blank.

What an odd book.

**{X}**

**A/N: You guys are the bomb. seriously. I mean, all of you have basically told me (nicely) to get over myself and my insecurities. Thanks a lot, guys. I mean, I know I fret too much, but your words mean a lot. Especially when all of you took efforts to point out that no, chapter didnt suck thank you very much. :D**

**So. New chapter. Here is. This plot twist required a huge leap of faith. Mostly cuz everytime I try to change anything, I just cringe because nnnghh it was perfect, but we come to ff for a reason. **

**A lot of you also said Sarah isn't a Mary Sue. Thanks a bunch for that, guys. I was afraid for a moment. I mean... OCs are just hard. Always. Without fail.**

**Next chapter is already written. Wait for it. Loads of new things happen. *winkwink***

**As always, review, please?**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So many people expressed concern about what Sarah would do with the Death Note. And I'm actually happy all of you thought she'd meet a different Shinigami. Sorry, but naaah. I'm not a fan of that particular trope either, like a lot of you said. I wanted to change the Death Note story without creating ripples that would drastically alter _everything_, because let's face it, DN was one of the best stories ever told. I mean, things will be altered... but you'll see. So without further ado, here we go.**

**Be sure to leave your comments and thoughts.**

**They help a lot. For example, I even changed a few (very few) things about the first few chapters because of something an author pointed out. Whether you hated the twist, whether you thought it didn't make sense.**

**Frankly, there were possibly a 101 ways Rem could ensure that the Death Note reached L.**

**However, only one would create an entirely new suspect to push the heat off Misa. Think on that. Or rather, I thought of it that way.**

**Also, the response. I just... *stares***

**Like I said in my profile, reviews are a surefire way to get me off my butt. so y'all know what to do. :D**

**And, Anon, no. I'm not abandoning this yet. No worries. Also, um... A lot of you (may) be expecting a love triangle or L to dramatically change or something because he and Sarah are 'friends'. However, please do remember that L stands for a Liar sometimes. (Shoutout to WhiteDragonLady's awesomesauce LXOC fic BTW). **

**{X}**

Perhaps if Rem had more time, she would've picked a more… convincing human. But now, as she hovered a few meters away from the girl, successfully managing to stay out of sight, all she could think of was that selecting yet another girl of Misa's age wasn't probably the best way to go about it. Picking, too, is a contradictory word. If Rem had picked someone in the true sense of the word, then she would have dropped the notebook in their room, like she had with Misa. Not like this. Not on the ground so that the first clumsy human to walk past would trip over it and go crashing into the ground.

She remembered, with no small amount of fondness, how shocked Misa had been upon seeing her the first time. How she had almost screamed, and seemed determined to believe that Rem had come to take her soul. It was only after she had explained everything about the Death Note that Misa had calmed.

And now the same Misa was in trouble, with her memories lost and clinging to a boy that didn't even like her.

Rem's eyes narrowed slightly.

_Light Yagami, your betrayal will cost you heavily…_

She was struck by the memory again, the look of obvious distaste on the boy's face as Misa held his arm with love shining out of her eyes. The way the other one – the detective (Rem didn't like him either. Like Light, his soul reeked of disease too.) – had asked him to continue the deception, and he had agreed after making false statements of morality. Morality, what a funny concept – one that humans continued to cling to with desperation, always ready to believe that they were above everything else in the universe.

_("Light-kun… Are you serious about her?"_

"_No way! It's like I told you earlier, it's completely one-sided.)_

Her Misa wasn't like that.

Or rather, her Misa wasn't like that before Rem had given her the Death Note.

On some days, Rem blamed herself enough to want to kill the boy and rid the world (and Misa. Always Misa) of her suffering. She had thought, stupidly, that perhaps he would come to care for the beautiful blonde the way she had. The way Gelus had. But Light Yagami was a special kind of monster.

The kind that didn't believe it was one in the first place.

"Does Light know of the changes you're making to his plan?" The speaker hovered towards her, his face set in its perpetual ghastly grin. Shinigami weren't supposed to be good to look at - but Ryuk was a special kind of hideous.

When she didn't reply, he pointed to the girl. "You can tell me, y'know. I did transfer ownership of the death note to ya." There was another meaningful pause, and when a reply wasn't forthcoming, Ryuk turned to Sarah again. "So you chose her."

"I didn't choose her." Rem's voice was calm, stilted. "I dropped the notebook for anyone to find, just like you had."

"_Hyuk Hyuk_~" He bent over laughing, and thus, missed the look of absolute distaste that flashed on Rem's face. Ryuk was always a weird one. Weirder than Gelus too, some had said. "I'll tell ya a secret – she knows them both!" He burst into more cackles, insane, mad ones. "What're your plans for her?"

"None of your business."

"You're never any fun," The Death God chided flippantly, "Always so serious. _Light_en up! _Hyuk hyuk_~"

"Go away, Ryuk. You're not wanted."

"Eh, don't worry, I'm going. I just came to tell you, the other one's waking up." After imparting that bit of careful advice, he rose higher. "This is going to be fun!"

It was only after he had left that Rem allowed herself to close her eyes briefly. Ryuk was tiring to deal with. Her human, meanwhile, seemed to have reached home. She studied the characters above her head – Sarah Miller.

Then of course, there was a bit of a problem, a problem named Higuchi, because if he was waking up, then it meant that Rem had to leave. Soon. She couldn't stay and talk to this particular owner for long. Higuchi inspired a different sort of disgust in Rem - he was the lowest form of human she had ever met. He was, if possible, crazier than Light, and highly paranoid.

Not that he shouldn't be. They were conspiring against him.

Thankfully, Sarah Miller didn't seem to have much on her mind apart from sleeping. Her weary eyes took in the room, threw her bag on the floor and fell upon her bed.

A few minutes later, the sound of soft snoring filled the room, and Rem glanced at the Death Note warily before taking her leave.

There was still time to put her plan into action.

_Sarah Miller – you'll be my gamble against Light Yagami._

_You better not fail me._

**{X}**

Sarah had left the notebook she had tripped over at home. In the morning, she toyed with the idea of taking notes in it, but something in her disagreed with the idea. It seemed like a special kind of notebook – one that someone had taken special care of. It even smelled different, which Sarah noticed only after she came home after the particularly grueling day and picked it up almost automatically. The blank sheets were smoother than vellum, and something in the pages gave it an almost pearly sheen.

With one hand still holding it, she padded over to the bed, falling upon it with a loud sigh. Her eyes rolled upwards to contemplate the blank ceiling. Perhaps she would use it for Physics. But once again, her heart balked at the idea of using it and then discarding it as soon as the year was over. She rolled over her stomach and pressed the notebook into the bed, using her hands to support her head.

Maybe as a diary…?

That could work. As soon as the idea hit, Sarah straightened and hastily rummaged through her bag for a pen. However, once the instrument was in her hand, she paused again. Her handwriting, Sarah was forced to conclude, wouldn't do it justice either.

She sighed.

"For one so young, you certainly sound very tired," a deep voice muttered from somewhere above her head.

All thoughts of the notebook instantly vanished, and Sarah scrambled upright, lifting the pen in her hand threateningly. She knew enough self-defense to be seriously able to injure her intruder if push came to shove… even if the only tool she had at the moment was a measly blue pen.

Hovering around the edges of her bed was a… creature. Perhaps if she had her wits about her, Sarah would've come up with a better term to describe the being that floated in the air, but at the moment, it sufficed. It was a large, skeletal thing, with wrappings around its face. One uncovered yellow eye peered at her with an undecipherable emotion swimming below its depths, and pointed, jarring bones protruded from its shoulders. Long, lanky arms hung next to its skeletal body, and the gawking, webbed fingers twitched.

Despite her attempts at portraying a strong exterior, at heart, Sarah was a simple girl who was scared by even horror movies. As such, her lungs inhaled noisily as her mouth stretched wide open –

And the _thing_ moved, and pressed one suffocating hand on her face.

Sarah flailed around desperately as all the breath was knocked out of her in one swoop.

"Please, don't be afraid," the creature intoned deeply, while at the same time, stopping Sarah from breathing. Maybe her wide eyes gave it away, for its grip lessened. But not enough for Sarah to scream the hell down, obviously. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Mmmpf – !"

"I'll even let you go if you don't scream."

Briefly, Sarah considered her options before nodding quickly. She needed oxygen urgently, and seeing the way her vision was blacking at the edges…

But then, it let go, and Sarah stumbled to her knees, her hands pressed to the floor in an effort to stay upright as she took in great, swooping breaths. When she had her fill, and was in no danger of fainting (or dying) anytime soon, she looked up incredulously. What…?

The creature raised its hands. "I am Rem." A beat. "I am a Shinigami, Sarah Miller."

Sarah's heart leapt to her throat in one horrifying instant. "S-Shinigami?"

Perhaps the Death God saw the intent to scream in her eyes, for once again, it said, "I am not here to hurt you, Sarah. Please, calm down."

The pen in her hand trembled, and belatedly, Sarah realized it was she who was trembling. Shivers of deep fear racked her body as she stumbled back to fall on her rump, her wide-eyed gaze fixed on the celestial being before her. "Death Gods… don't exist." Her voice too, stuttered around the edges.

"Yes," Rem said, "We do. There has been more than once that we have descended on your world, Sarah Miller."

"O-Okay. Fine. Maybe you do exist." Sarah wasn't about to ignore the existence of a creature that blurred right before her eyes, obviously. Not when her pen didn't look like it could defend her from it. "But the question is… What the hell are you doing here?"

"You picked up my notebook. I am here to observe."

Sarah's eyes fell on the notebook in question. There wasn't a single doubt in her mind that it was what the Death God spoke up. Hesitantly, she rose to her feet and picked it up. "This notebook?" She flipped the pages carelessly. "What does this have to with anything?"

"This is a Death Note." A pause, and Rem leaned forward to point at the cover, seemingly mollified when Sarah didn't scream. "_My_ Death Note. This is how Shinigami take human lives."

Sarah's eyes widened. "A book that… kills?"

"Yes," Rem confirmed, now backing away a little. "If you write a human's name in it, they will die without fail. It's how Shinigami increase their lifespan."

"You're joking." Sarah stated flatly, still staring at the book in shock. Suddenly, it felt as if it would grow claws and eat her face. She dropped it back on the bed, backing away slowly.

The Shinigami, meanwhile, frowned. "I do not joke. There are, of course, rules that must be followed if you want to kill."

Another beat.

"Do you want to kill?"

"N-No!" Sarah choked out helplessly, crumpling against the wall. Her hands found purchase in her shirt. "I don't want to kill anyone! Why would you give me this?!"

"That's…" But instead of answering her question, Rem instead turned to face the window. The one eye Sarah could see visibly drooped. "Perhaps another human in your shoes would have felt differently, and I would have been forced to threaten them. But you, Sarah Miller… You will do."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I apologize," Rem muttered then, not sounding apologetic at all. "What I mean to say is, most humans would jump at the opportunity to kill. Isn't there someone you'd like to kill too? Perhaps an old lover who has jilted you, perhaps… _a criminal?"_

The heart in Sarah's chest thumped. "I can kill with just a name?"

"A name and a face."

"And that's how Kira has been killing, hasn't he?" Until the words had left her mouth, Sarah hadn't quite meant to say them. "He's using a Death Note! He…"

"You are correct," The Death God confirmed. It still didn't turn to face Sarah though. "The human named 'Kira' has another Death Note."

Thrilled by the discovery, and perhaps a tad frightened of it, Sarah forgot her fear of the Shinigami. Instead, she stood up and picked up the notebook again. "Do you guys just… choose humans and give it to them, then?"

Now, the notebook wasn't scary anymore. It was just a tool. And like her pen, it could be wielded correctly, or in the wrong manner.

"Sometimes, Sarah Miller," Rem informed her, "Sometimes, we just drop them accidentally."

"So Kira is a human," Sarah murmured to herself, dropping on the bed. "Just another human, playing at God. I was right to fear his motives…" She trailed off, deep in thought.

"Rem," she called out softly after a few minutes, "I have a few questions. So, I'm assuming that only I can see you?"

There was a brief silence. Then: "That's correct. Only a human who has touched the Note can lay his eyes upon the Shinigami who owns it."

"Wow. Okay. So one more question. If I give this notebook to someone else, can they see you too?"

"Yes."

"Alright, fine," Sarah stated, rising to her feet fluidly. "I have made a decision."

It was a decision that barely even required any thought. Somehow, it came to her, as natural as breathing.

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm going to give this notebook to L."

Sarah was so caught up in herself, she failed to notice the faint sigh of relief that the Shinigami gave.

**{X} **

Of course, as Sarah found out later, it's a lot easier to make such a statement than to keep up with it.

It was late enough that her head hurt, and yet, Sarah found she couldn't quite let it go just then. Firing up her computer, she sat on the chair and searched for any and all information regarding the detective. In her heart of hearts, she knew it was pointless – there was no way L would just leave details about him lying on the internet. But… it could also be presumed that he might be monitoring all search engines for any suspicious activity regarding him.

Maybe if she searched for him multiple times…?

_Foolish_, a soft voice interjected in her head, _you're being foolish. There's no way you can possibly find L when even the best people out there couldn't. _Kira_ couldn't. _

Sarah sighed and grabbed the Death Note again. The spine made a jagged mark on her cheek as she leaned against it, and contemplated her options. Maybe she could send tapes to SakuraTV like Kira had? Or perhaps go to the police?

Maybe she could even go to her dad.

And yet, as soon as the idea presented itself, Sarah rejected it. She knew the police disliked cooperating with L. If anything, they'd think she was Kira and apprehend her instead. As for telling her father, she knew she really, really wanted to. Ever since her mother had died, there had only been open communication from both sides. But she could go to him even after she'd told L. Telling L was priority here; if someone else found out – if _Kira_ found out what was happening – then he might kill her.

Sarah didn't want to die. Her brow furrowed as she twisted in the chair. Across the room, her eyes landed on the Shinigami who was still hovering, its one yellow eye peering at her. Rem's white body contrasted sharply with the purple wrappings – regardless, the Death God was rather ghastly to look at. It seemed to be waiting too… for what, Sarah didn't know.

"Say, Rem," she began hesitantly, "If I don't write in the Death Note, then does it still belong to me? I mean, technically, I haven't used it."

"The Note belongs to the human who picked it up," Rem said slowly; "Also, there's another rule I forgot to tell you. The human who writes in the Death Note can go to neither Heaven nor Hell."

The color drained from Sarah's face. "So, you're telling me that if I do write someone's name, then… I'll go where, exactly?"

"Mu." Rem said softly. "You'll go to Mu. To nothingness. For eternity."

Sarah shuddered at the concept. So killing people didn't come without a price to Kira either – he, or she, would end up nowhere after death. It was a terrifying thing – for she believed in afterlife. And if what Rem said was true, then not going to Heaven or Hell would be the worst thing to happen to her. Was the cost worth it? Clearly, Kira thought it was.

"You could've told me that before, y'know," Sarah chided lightly, without any conviction behind her words. She was too lost in thought. Here she was, with important information for the great detective, and he was nowhere to be found.

"What an idiot…" She voiced out loud.

Rem turned. "Who?"

"L."

"Why is he an idiot?" Curiosity laced the Shinigami's tone.

"Well, for starters, I have crucial evidence regarding the Kira case. And he's nowhere to be found! I mean, it's ridiculous." Sarah's lips pursed. "This would've been important news for him too, I think. I doubt he knows…"

"Sarah… Do you really not know how to find him?"

Sarah's head snapped upright at the words. Rem's eye peered at her almost thoughtfully, as if the Death God was thinking about several things at once. But her thought process wasn't what interested Sarah at all – her words did. Maybe... just maybe… Could they be lucky enough?

"Rem…" She began almost cautiously, hopefully, "do you know how to find him?"

"Yes."

Rem's gaze leveled hers. The voice was almost flat, as if astounded that Sarah wouldn't know. It was surprising, to say the least, and Sarah found herself pouting. "Don't look at me like that! How will I know how to find him? I've never met him before!"

The knowledge that Rem did though, was thrilling.

"I was told…" Rem stopped midway and shook her head slightly. "I know where he is, Sarah. In fact, I was hoping that you'd go to him."

"What…? _Why_?"

"Because I need to speak with him."

"About what?"

"About…" Rem paused slightly, almost as if struggling with something.

It struck Sarah then, that perhaps the Shinigami wasn't as honest as it pretended to be, and that she really might be in some danger, despite the repeated assurances. It sounded like Rem had its own agenda to follow – and since Sarah wasn't sure what that agenda was, it might even be dangerous.

She found herself taking a leap of faith, regardless. Rem probably wanted to speak to L for one reason only. "Rem… Do you… want to help L stop Kira?"

Rem exhaled lightly, almost as if she was sighing. "Perhaps, Sarah Miller. I have been searching for a way to talk to him, but he is rarely ever alone. It is something like this – to protect someone I… like; I'm going to take a gamble. That gamble will be him."

Sarah frowned. "And me? What am I in all of this?"

"You?" Rem sounded almost surprised by the question. Almost. "You're my way to reach him."

It wasn't an outlandish concept, Sarah thought, as her eyes fell to the black notebook in her hand. Rem _did_ mention dropping the notebook for anyone to find. And from her previous mutterings, it seemed that if Sarah herself hadn't suggested going to L, then she was sure Rem would have threatened her with her life. She had no part to play in this battle after all – the battle between L and Kira. But she wasn't stupid enough to believe that Rem had told the entire truth. The Shinigami was still hiding things, but so far, whatever it had said didn't seem to be a lie. If Rem was searching for a way to talk to L, then Sarah could provide it. All she had to do was to knock on his front door, seeing how Rem already knew where he lived.

"Rem…" When the Shinigami looked up, Sarah adopted her fiercest expression, trying to look as dangerous as possible. "If I let you speak to L, will you give me your word to help him against Kira? And will you promise not to harm either of us?"

Rem froze, for a miniscule second, before recovering. "Yes. If he agrees to my plan, then I will help him the best way I can." And though Sarah couldn't hear, she added in her head: _And if Light honestly means to help Misa, then I'll kill him to protect them both from him._

"Very well," Sarah rose to her feet fluidly. Her eyes dropped to the black cover of the Note. The priority here was giving the notebook to L. The rest could wait. Almost balefully, her eyes met Rem's, and in them, she saw certain fierceness. And maybe a tad desperation.

"Then let's go find L."

**{X}**

"Ryuzaki!"

All eyes swiveled to the monitor on the screen as Watari's sharp tone caught their attention. He looked almost flabbergasted, an unusual expression for the old man, for nothing ever fazed the Watari L knew. L found his interest peaking – perhaps, after so long, Kira had finally made a move.

His eyes darted to the right. The Third Kira, he amended.

"What's wrong, Watari?"

Instead of replying, the sound of typing wafted over the Task Force, the sharp _click-click-click _chiming in the silence. Watari's face was bowed down, and a few seconds later, the monitor on the left shifted views, to that of the camera on the entrance. L leaned forward as he took in the sight.

"She said… She said she wants to talk to L!"

From beside him, Light gasped in surprise, and Matsuda leapy to his feet. Even Soichiro Yagami let out a soft, choking sound. L, meanwhile, rested his eyes on the girl standing at the doorstep, her hands wringing her shirt uncomfortably.

Sarah Miller – his so-called friend. Perhaps, if things were as they should be, he might have felt no small amount of shock. Instead, now he felt only anticipation tingling through his bones. The Kira Investigation had been going nowhere since Light's incarceration and subsequent release - in fact, one would say that this was just a step forward. It would've been foolish to assume that Sarah Miller had entered his life without some previous prerogative – even if he had indulged her just to keep his cover. Besides, that was why he had researched into her background, hadn't he? To see if she had a previous motive.

The fact that she didn't had left him slightly uneasy. But now… Now there was a reason. There were facts. There was evidence, even.

Sarah Miller, on the other hand, was staring straight into the camera. Her eyes were wide, and her face was somewhat red. Her fingers were clutched tightly around her bag, and she was almost squirming as she stood.

"Ryuzaki! I think I've seen her before!" Light shouted as he leaned into the screen. L ignored him.

"Watari, link me to that microphone."

There was a grunt of assent from him, and L absently tapped the mike before mentally preparing himself.

"This is a private building, miss. I'm afraid trespassers are not allowed."

Sarah's eyes narrowed at his words, which were relayed to her through the scrambler. From the screen, he could see that her knuckles were white. "I told you already. I know this is where you conduct investigations, okay? _I need to speak with L!"_

"I tried the same route, Ryuzaki," Watari's voice cut in through the speakers. "She seems adamant that this is the Task Force Headquarters." A brief pause and the sound of fingers hitting keys quickly assault them again. "I've checked with the police and all possible leads. It is next to impossible for her to have this information!"

"Hm." L swiped a finger across his strawberry cake before pressing it into his mouth. With his other hand, he pressed the mike again. "Miss, I must request you to leave. There is no L –,"

"Stop it! Stop lying to me! I know you're here, alright?" Sarah interjected loudly, before pressing her hand to her mouth in surprise. Her voice lowered, and took on a pleading quality L had seen before… On suspects. "Look, I have information for you, okay? I'm here to help you, not to kill you or something."

"Ryuzaki! Who is she? How the hell does she know?!" Aizawa seemingly had enough, for he stepped forward with a shout.

"I think her name is Sarah! I met her in To-Oh."

"Her full name is Sarah –,"

"Watari." At the sound of L's voice, Watari immediately shut his mouth. L swiveled in his seat to face Light. "It's true – you did meet her in To-Oh. So did I. But since you don't remember her full name, I think it's wise to not broadcast it. This _is_ a Kira investigation."

"But Ryuzaki, she somehow managed to find us! That cannot be normal." Soichiro's spectacles glinted as he walked ahead. "What are you planning to do?"

Instead of answering him, L pressed the button again. "What makes you think L needs help?" He saw no point in playing the denial game again. If she had managed to find him, and the probability was nearly 0.04%, then there was a good chance she was confident and assured in her knowledge.

Sarah's eyes glinted. "Trust me, this? This you need to know."

"Perhaps I should just turn _you_ into the police for being Kira."

Her face paled and her jaw dropped open slightly. "I – I'm not Kira!" Her voice shook as she spoke. "Why would you even think that?"

"That remains to be seen. You have managed to infiltrate my Headquarters –,"

"I didn't infiltrate –,"

"And are now attempting to gain contact –,"

"Jesus, there's no way –,"

"That makes you a very likely candidate, I'm afraid. Either that, or you're being controlled _by_ Kira." L's eyes narrowed slightly. "Based on these assumptions, I possibly cannot –,"

"The _law_ is unreliable, it _lies_."

L froze.

Meanwhile, Light leaned into the mike, his brown eyes narrowed. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me." Beneath the obvious confidence, there was a hint of a tremble in her voice. Her hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly, and her eyes darted all over the place. Almost as if…

"_Ryuzaki_."

The warning was laced in Watari's tone. L acknowledged it with a nod. This was going too far. It was one thing to know the location of his Headquarters – it was quite another to hint towards his real name. If he had read her words correctly, and if she did know his real name, then he had no option. This couldn't be left to chance - he _had_ to interrogate her. Briefly, his genius brain went to work again, calculating possibilities and disregarding probabilities. At last, he turned to the investigation team.

"Yagami-san, Aizawa-san, please wear masks and bring her inside. Make sure to keep your face covered. And yes," he added, when Aizawa's lips parted. "Carry your guns."

Then, in an almost inaudible voice, "How interesting."

**{X}**

Sarah's heart leapt to her throat and almost did a tango all the way back to Manhattan when she saw the guns pointed at her.

She knew she was taking a huge gamble by approaching L like this – it was scarily close to a full-blown assault. But she hadn't quite anticipated this response. Somehow, in her ideal world, she had thought L would just saunter out and come speak to her. She completely failed to predict that he would consider her a threat too. And to add injury, Rem had asked her to speak those words. She had no idea what they meant – The _law_ is unreliable, it _lies_ , indeed, but Rem had told her to be confident and pretend she knew what she was talking about. Was it a threat? It sure sounded like one, so Sarah did. But now…

_Stupid_, Sarah thought wryly, as she was ushered inside_. I was being stupid._ She stood to the side, eyes wide open as they scanned her retina, took her fingerprints, and even shuffled through her bag – but while wearing gloves, thankfully. The bag was held to the camera, and they must have received confirmation somehow, for it was then returned to her, and she quickly grabbed it. Her heart almost stopped working when the shorter guy took out the Death Note and started flipping through the pages. But when they had stuffed everything back in, and pushed her through a scanner, she found herself in handcuffs. Next, she was blindfolded, and one of them even did a full body pat down, even as Sarah's cheeks burned crimson. To complete the picture, earplugs were stuffed in her ears and her cellphone was snatched away.

No taking chances, then. Right. L sure was thorough.

Blind, deaf and restrained, they led her through a long, winding path (at least to her), and finally, Sarah found herself tied to a chair. The earplugs were removed, and there was a soft sound of a door closing before a sharp crackling sound assaulted her ears.

"Sarah-san," the scrambled voice began, "Now what was it you needed to tell me?"

_He knows my name._

Somehow, that thought was more terrifying than everything put together. He knew her name. He probably had a file pulled up there somewhere on his screen, her father's name, her birthday. Her marks in kindergarten, even. Her blood type. Her friends. Her cellphone number. _Everything_.

"Sarah, don't say anything," Rem murmured from somewhere to her right. "Tell him you want to meet him alone, in a room without cameras. Tell him you can't take the chances of anyone hearing you."

"L-san," her voice rasped and shook slightly, "If you wanted to intimidate me, then congratulations. You've achieved your purpose." Sarah knew her voice was trembling. It had been since the moment she had stepped in front of the building and opened her mouth. Perhaps, if she was someone else, she wouldn't be so scared. But being deaf, blind and restrained does things to a person. It makes you realize… you can't move. You can't see. You can only hear because someone else has given you the permission to do so. Yes, she was scared. She was so, so scared. Unbidden, hot tears pooled through the black cloth over her eyes. "But I cannot speak to you like this –,"

This was _L_. The person, the organization, the whatever-the-hell-it-was who could make governments fall to their knees at a single command. And what had Sarah done? She had gone and poked the proverbial sleeping dragon.

_Of course_ he would think she was suspicious. Her actions, so far, had consisted of making an impulsive statement and listening to a thing that wasn't even of her own world. No, even better – she had quoted said thing without batting a single eyelash because it said that those words would make L listen to her.

What if he tried to kill her instead? Jail her? Convict her for being Kira?

What would her father say?

Even before she could complete her sentence, L's voice rang in the room. "I'm afraid I cannot take any chances by untying you, Sarah-san. I'm sure you understand."

"No, _you_ don't understand. I need to speak to you… privately. Remove all the cameras and microphones in the room. In fact, keep me blindfolded, if you must."

The silence was deafening.

"I –," Sarah was openly pleading now (terrified. She was so terrified.); "I'm not here to hurt you or anything. I'm not even being controlled by anyone. I just… _Please_."

Once again, the silence smothered her like an especially heavy blanket. Even Rem was silent, and Sarah wondered what she was thinking. Would the Shinigami even feel any regret if L decided to end her life here and then? Probably not. Rem would just go find another more convincing individual to do her work.

_Creak_.

Sarah felt her heart beat up a tempest within her chest. The door was opening after all. The person's footsteps shuffled past her, and Sarah was suddenly struck with the knowledge that the world's _greatest_ detective was within inches from her. Nerves shot through her stomach, nerves of a different variety altogether.

_Crack_.

"I have disabled all devices in this room, Sarah-san. You can speak freely now."

His voice was a soft, melodic purr.

Before she could say anything, Rem interjected smoothly, "It's the correct room."

Sarah immediately understood. Rem had told her that she could not openly tell Sarah if the man was L or not, so they had devised a code. This was the code Rem had chosen for everything was going correctly.

This was L.

Sarah inhaled sharply. "You're L?"

"Yes."

"Alright." If L was confused by her sudden acquiescence, then he didn't say anything. "You have my bag, right?"

"Correct."

"Then please bring out all the books."

Once again, L didn't comment. Instead, she heard the sound of a zipper opening, the customary flutter of pages and then, as Sarah's breath hitched in anticipation– a loud scream.

"!"

The wind whipped past Sarah's face as Rem untied her blindfold, and Sarah blinked rapidly to remove the remaining tears from her eyes. Her sight blurred, and then sharpened.

The most astonishing sight greeted her.

Ryuuga was on the floor before her – Hideki Ryuuga. From To-Oh. His wide eyes were fixed at a point behind Sarah's head, but she couldn't even register the fact that he was shocked. Instead, all she could hear was white noise in her eardrums as they drummed rapidly, and her heart fluttered in her chest. Her breaths came in long, ragged gasps.

At the same time, she said, "You're L?!" and he muttered, "Is that a Shinigami?!"

"You can't be L! You're… Hideki Ryuuga!"

"A Shinigami. So I was correct…"

"Ryuuga-san –,"

Ryuuga – no, _L_, for why would Rem lie – rose to his feet and slouched forward, hands in his pocket. His eyes were wide with awe, and he seemed to be completely ignoring Sarah. His hand withdrew from its position, stretched forward, as if to touch Rem, but before he did so, his eyes snapped downwards. "You can see it too?"

Quickly, Sarah nodded. The blood roared through her head as she stared at him, and vaguely, she could see Rem's mouth moving, but it all seemed like such a blur. It was hard to breathe…

Memories flashed through her. She had called him a _friend_. L. It was L. She had called L a friend. She had…

It was hard… Her head spun in circles.

"Sarah-san…!"

His voice felt like it was coming from far away as Sarah's body eventually gave out. She hung, suspended in her restraints as her eyes fluttered shut.

**{X}**


	6. Chapter 6

There were tears clinging to her eyelids. The scent of damp, salty water stuck to her like second skin. For one suspended moment, she was dreaming about something – something related to the Kira case, even as hands grabbed her shoulders and shook her forcefully. Perhaps even L was involved, and crying, so much crying.

She remembered screaming and raging and rattling in her chains.

"Sarah-san!"

Regaining consciousness is always like blinking. One moment, you aren't there. And the next?

The next, you realize that there is a boy right in your face, his wide eyes almost jumping out of their designated sockets even as he shakes your shoulders violently. You're both on the floor, holding each other for support. The whites of his sleeves catch your attention.

Sarah blinked. "R-Ryuuga-san?"

_No_, unbidden, the voice hissed in her head. _Not Ryuuga. L. This is L._

He was suddenly scary to look at. It was the same face she was used to seeing in To-Oh, and yet, now, he felt miles above her. He could, at a moment's notice, have her imprisoned and/or killed for being so facetious. Something pounded painfully against her forehead – it felt like her brain was trying to jump out and perform a rumba.

"What do you remember?" Ryuuga shook her again for good measure, as if trying to snap her back into reality. His hands were warm against her bare skin, and that's when Sarah realized that her jacket was now crumpled on the floor next to them.

"R-remember?"

Crying. She remembered crying. Standing outside, saying nonsensical things. Being blindfolded, handcuffed, tied to a chair. Scrambler. Voice. Realization. Impact.

But _why_?

"I – I don't know," Her voice cracked at the large syllable as she peeked up at him. He was still too close. Close enough that his breath fanned her face, and it smelled like strawberries. "I – I came here, and someone tied me up. And then… you untied me?"

"Do you remember why you came here?"

"N – no."

"Do you remember anything?"

"I… you made me do something I didn't want to. And I shouted at you." Sarah's brow furrowed. "But… what - ?"

At that, he let her go and fell back into his customary crouch. His hunch was so pronounced, it felt as if he would snap in two and crackle against her skin. The contrast of his deep black hair against his porcelain skin felt like glass, like he would break at a touch. He looked, Sarah realized, weary. It wasn't even the smudges beneath his dark eyes, or the pale skin that gave that impression. It was what was within those eyes. He looked… defeated. Crushed. Conquered, even.

"I –," The words came tumbling out before she could stop them. "What am I doing here? How – how did I find this place?"

His words were slow in coming. During the entire time, Sarah stared at him silently, trying to reconcile the image of the detective she had imagined with the man in front of her. L was supposed to be… old, distinguished-looking, and perhaps even with a British accent. But this… this wasn't what she had expected. This wasn't what she had even wanted.

A slow burning covered her cheeks. Hadn't she willfully declared him her friend? And offered to eat cake with him, of all things?

"Sarah-san…"

Sarah continued staring.

At last, his lips parted. "I have come to the conclusion… that we were both under the control of the person named 'Kira'."

**{X}**

"What do you mean, you were both controlled by Kira?!" Asahi's voice rang like a bullet in the air, making Sarah cringe slightly from her position on the sofa. At the front of the hall, L was perched upon a chair, carefully eating a soufflé. He seemed most unconcerned about the effect his words had upon the rest of the Task Force. Instead, his eyes remained focused on the confectionary in front of him.

_Clink_. "I mean exactly what I just said, Asahi-san." He was also connected via handcuffs to Light Yagami, who was _apparently_ assisting on the case – which, of course, made Sarah all suspicious and apprehensive. Maybe that was what was in store for her too; to be handcuffed to the weirdest looking guy she had ever met. Not to mention, he was also actually the world's best detective. "Either we were both being controlled by Kira, or Sarah-san _is_ Kira, and is now pretending to be just another college student."

All eyes swiveled towards Sarah, and she shrunk beneath the blanket draped on her shoulders.

"However," Ryuuga/L/Ryuzaki continued, "The probability of Sarah-san being Kira is admittedly very low. So far, she has not displayed any of the personality traits associated with Kira. She is far too trusting, has a low sense of self-esteem, and has displayed an unnaturally strong inclination to being indecisive in everyday matters."

And then, as if he hadn't just completely ripped apart her personality and laid her bare for the world to see, he turned to Sarah and pointed his fork in her direction. "In addition to that, she wasn't in Japan during the Lind. L Taylor broadcast."

Sarah blinked. That was true, technically. She had been far away, in a different country altogether.

"But," Light interrupted, before anyone could say anything, and his eyes flickered over her apologetically, "She did know the location of the Task Force Headquarters, Ryuzaki. Since the likelihood of her being controlled by Kira is the most, don't you think that puts us all in danger from him?"

"Light-kun is correct," L said simply, turning around in his chair to face the computer. "So far, since none of us have died yet –," the one named Matsui flinched at the words – "It can be said that Kira cannot personally kill us. Of course, I might be wrong, but I think that Sarah-san may have been sent here to send us a message. We know Kira cannot kill without a name and a face, while Second Kira needs just a face."

"What message?"

L's features darkened, as if a shadow had fallen over him. "That he can control any of us if we come into contact with another person under his directions."

"W-wait a second, Ryuzaki, but personally, I think you're wrong." Light stepped forward, a frown on his pretty face. "So far, all we know about Kira is that he can kill with just a face, he can control the actions of his victims before his death, and since you think that Misa and I _were_ Kira, he can apparently also control people into killing. But, what if Kira isn't involved in this at all? Is there any possible way that Sarah-san could be controlled by someone else? Because there has been no hitch in the pattern of killings. They remain the same!"

"Aw, man, what the hell are you talking about, Light?! Another person with these weird powers?!"

"I see your point," L muttered, ignoring Matsui. His dark eyes rolled upwards to look at the ceiling. "Perhaps…"

Everyone leaned forward in anticipation, even Sarah, who had so far done nothing but nod mutely when L had introduced her to everyone in the room. Or rather, he had grunted out names before seating himself and attacking the soufflé like a starved man.

Maybe he noticed their attention, or maybe he didn't, for finally, he said, "Please, do not concern yourself with safety. Even now, Watari is making changes to the building. I'm afraid relocating is out of the question for the moment, but I assure you… I will do whatever it takes to bring Kira to justice."

It didn't escape Sarah's notice that he had conveniently left out his deductions by pointing out concerns of safety. Even Aihara seemed most disgruntled by his evasion. But nobody called him out on it, not even Light, who was still frowning at the detective. Provided, of course, if he really was L. But considering the way everyone seemed to look up at him for directions, and the fact that this was a state-of-the-art skyscraper they were all staying in, no expenses spared, it stood to reason that he _was_ L after all.

Sarah was still wrapping her head around it.

"Would you like some tea, Miss?"

It was a really old guy who had stopped in front of her, pushing along a trolley made of dreams – and she literally meant _dreams_. It was chock-full with sweet items, starting from pastries, to cakes, to jellies, to shortcakes, even. He held out a cup of hot, steaming tea, and unthinkingly, Sarah wrapped her fingers around it, seeping in the warmth. It provided support to her still trembling fingers.

"Thank you…"

"Watari," he provided with a gentle smile.

"Sarah," she offered in return.

He probably noticed her eyeing the various sweets on the trolley, for his eyes crinkled into a wider smile. "Is there something else you would like from this?"

"Um –," Sarah looked around for confirmation, but no one was really looking at her, so she shrugged, set down her cup and picked up the blueberry scone. It smelled heavenly. "Thank you, Watari-san."

He wheeled away after giving her yet another smile, and Sarah dug in hesitantly. Even though, for all intents and purposes, it was cooked to perfection and tasted just as good as it smelled, she soon realized she had no appetite. After a few half-hearted bites, she set it down on the table in front of her, and picked up her tea again, going back to listening in on the conversation going on.

"… you can't seriously mean that!" Light was saying in hushed tones that Sarah could hear only because she was straining her ears.

"There is no other course of action available to me, Light-kun. She has to stay here."

Sarah had a vague, uneasy feeling about that particular conversation, so she focused on Aihara and Asahi instead. They, too, were arguing heatedly.

"… This investigation has been going on in circles since the beginning, Chief. It's giving me a damn headache, is what. And now Ryuzaki is even refusing to share his thoughts with us! Is it –,"

"Aihara," Asahi's voice was firm. "Calm yourself. You know he has his own methods –,"

"Like chaining Light to himself?!"

"You know I'm as against that as you are, but he _is_ L –,"

"Saara-san!"

Sarah's attention diverted to the right. "Oh, hi!"

Taro Matsui was the one addressing her. He smiled cheerfully before dropping into the seat next to her. Sarah jumbled up the blanket in her arms to make more space, and Matsui responded by sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable! It's just… you looked kind of lonely, so I decided to keep you company!"

Sarah tilted her head to observe him. Somehow, he reminded her of Haru. He lacked the other boy's natural confidence, or even the perpetual playful aura Haru possessed, but he was definitely like Haru.

"Even if I'm a suspect?" She asked dubiously, clenching her fingers tight together.

"H-hehe, well, between you and me, Ryuzaki thinks everyone is a suspect… Although," and here, Matsui paused, a soft wince passing through his teeth, "Could you not tell him I said that? He's…"

"Of course," Sarah assured him hurriedly. He was right – she was lonely. She needed the company more than she'd realized. Being left alone with her thoughts was making her head pound.

"Are you feeling better now, though?" He asked, a concerned flash passing over his eyes, and Sarah bit back a grimace. When she had entered the room, in tow with Ryuuga, she was shaking enough that walking was hard. It was only after Asahi had carefully ushered her towards a sofa and draped a blanket over her cold shoulders that she had calmed somewhat.

Even now, the lingering terror of being _controlled_ wracked her.

"I'm fine," she muttered dismissively, picking up the now-cold scone again. Her spoon chimed against the glass. "I just needed some food."

"That's good to know."

"Sarah-san," an emotionless voice interrupted her, and bare feet entered her line of sight. They curled into the carpet childishly. "Please follow Watari into the other room. I shall be there to discuss your living arrangements shortly."

The spoon froze halfway to her mouth. "Living arrangements?"

"Yes," L said, not bothering to elaborate. And then, even as Sarah stared at him, stupefied, he pointed to the barely-eaten scone on the plate. "Are you going to finish that?"

"Finish…" Sarah's eyes dropped to her plate. "No. I guess not. But wait –!"

Once again, she was interrupted when a smooth flash of pale skin darted before her eyes and her hands suddenly felt weightless. The next second, L was already digging into the scone.

"What about living arrangements?" She choked out, ignoring the fact that the world's greatest detective had the table manners of a child.

_Crunch. _"I shall explain everything to you if you follow Watari, Sarah-san."

Her eyes drifted to the old man, who was patiently waiting by the door, his hands folded in front of him.

Surreal, everything felt surreal. Like a dream with its edges blurring.

And although Sarah was trying to deny it, the feeling in the pit of her stomach told her she knew _exactly_ what he meant by living arrangements.

The blanket slid of her shoulders like a rippling cascade of water as she stood up, her fingers nervously wringing her shirt. Her legs, unsurprisingly, felt like jelly – they shook and trembled and quivered. "I – okay. I-if you say so."

The space between her and Watari felt like miles.

"I'm not going home anytime soon, right?" She voiced out distantly, gut churning.

"Correct."

The confirmation felt like a blow to the head, and for what wasn't the first time, Sarah's feet jumbled as her head spun in circles just trying to figure things out. There was a vague _thud_ from somewhere, and belatedly, she realized it was her on the floor, eyes drifting shut as they ventured into oblivion.

**{X}**

"Sara-chan, Sara-chan! Are you feeling alright?"

Sarah blinked awake slowly, her movement sluggish. Her head felt clouded, like it was stuffed with cotton wool that reality hadn't managed to penetrate just yet. A black blob swirled in front of her, offset with the color of leeching white. It was surrounded by other such blobs, and Sarah could only stare in confusion. Her vision spun, trying to place the groggy face that descended to her line of sight. Her eyes fluttered again, and Matsui swam into focus, a worried frown on his face, before he turned back to the other members of the Task Force.

"She's coming to! Watari, do you have water?"

There was a hand cradling the back of her head, giving her support even as she forced her body to right itself. The soft burn of embarrassment at fainting not once, but twice in one day colored her cheeks, and Sarah found that hiding her face into the glass of water that had been forced upon her wasn't a very suitable option, as evidenced when L himself crouched in front of her, his dark eyes scanning her face.

"You don't look too well, Sarah-san."

"H-hey, Ryuzaki, she just fainted… I don't think it's a nice idea to go around telling her that!"

Bless Matsui, Sarah thought a tad gratefully, when the man actually stood up for her. Of course, the moment didn't last long, because seconds later, L's deadpan gaze was trained on him. She was astonished to see the officer gulp nervously.

"It was not my intention to offend, Matsui-san. I am merely pointing out the facts. Rest assured, your input was not needed."

The sheer unkindness of the words was something she hadn't seen in L before. To her knowledge, he had never… deliberately been rude. But then, what did she know about the man anyway? Even his real age was a mystery to her.

Although it might be said that she knew a lot more than what the world did combined. She knew what he looked like.

_And look at where that got me._

The glass she had been holding on to previously was smoothly snatched out of her grasp and placed on the adjoining table before she could as much as blink. A moment later, L was in his customary crouch in front of her, getting a little too close, as usual. His expression was as vacant as ever. "Your pupils are dilated," he mumbled, and then, all of a sudden, his pale hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, holding it between his thumb and forefinger like a dirty rag he had no intention of touching, but simply had to because the circumstances demanded it. "Your pulse rate is low as well, Sarah-san."

"I-I'm fine," Sarah tried to brush off, readying herself to stand up when –

_Yank_.

"W-what –,"

"You are definitely not 'fine'," L intoned blandly, as Sarah tried vainly to brush the tears from her eyes. If she knew her attempt of standing up would make him pull her down so hard, she would've definitely reconsidered.

"R-Ryuzaki, I think you hurt her!" Light shouted; clearly he had seen the tears blossoming in her eyes.

"It would have hurt her more had I allowed her to stand up, Light-kun."

_What a bastard…_

In hindsight, it wasn't that hard of a pull either. But in the situation, he felt like the playground bully who was helping her without helping her… Not that the words made sense, but…

"I would suggest you consume some sugar at the earliest. Your symptoms are the classic case low blood sugar, if not a stress attack," The hand on her wrist dropped when she made no attempt to move, and he absently began thumbing his lower lip. "Of course, you may just be anemic, but your medical records make no mention of the same, so I suppose we can rule that out."

"M-medical records?" Sarah repeated like a broken record that had been wired too many times.

"Here," He pushed a plate into her hands, before eyeing her almost balefully. "You should have informed me if you were feeling unwell, Sarah-san. I wouldn't have eaten your scone then."

"I –," Sarah was saved from answering when Light held out a hand to help her up. Having learned her lesson from the last time, she eyed L carefully before taking it, lest he decide to pull her down again. This time, though, he did nothing, except to move back a little as she stumbled to her feet. Moments later, her eyes fell to the plate of shortcake, and the sudden nausea that built in her stomach had her reeling back with her eyes shut tight.

"Sarah-san?" Light's careful voice reached her as she dropped his hand as if it was on fire. "Are you alright? You're looking a bit green."

"N-not hungry," she forced out, before placing one firm hand on the wall to balance herself.

"It is my belief that victims of a fainting spell experience a fair amount of nausea," L pointed out, standing up from his crouch before shuffling his way back to his seat. "Sarah-san merely needs to rest a little. Watari, if you will…"

"Of course, Ryuzaki. Come along, young lady." Watari held out his arm, and after one last glance at the detective, who was currently poking his fork through the shortcake she had previously discarded, Sarah took it.

If she wobbled anytime on her way to the lift, then Watari had the decency to not comment.

**{X}**

_Knock_.

Sarah woke up to darkness.

The back of her head felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it – _repeatedly_. Her hands moved haphazardly to cradle it as she rolled over on the bed, curling into herself to somehow lessen the pain. _Tylenol_, she thought drily. _I need some Tylenol_. The mattress beneath her body was soft enough to cocoon her comfortably within her blankets, and for a moment, Sarah forgot about her headache as she looked around with wide eyes.

_Where the hell..?_

_Knock knock. _

Her eyes darted to the innocent-looking wooden door, which separated her from the person standing outside. Weirdly enough, the first thought that came to her mind was: axe-murderer. A vague smile crossed her face, but her pounding head soon turned it into a painful grimace.

_Knock knock._

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" She called out to her persistent guest, sliding out of the bed with a complete lack of grace. The sheets jumbled around her feet almost sent her stumbling to the floor, but at the last moment, she managed to free herself of their unrelenting grip and walked over to the door, one hand on the doorknob while the other rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "What the hell – _oh_."

Memories came rushing back at the sight of the kindly old man. "Watari-san," she greeted warily, crossing her arms around her chest.

"Sarah-san," he said, in a marginally more amiable voice, "Could you please come outside? Ryuzaki wishes to talk to you."

"Ryuzaki…" Sarah echoed absently. "I see." Her voice was curt enough to cut through glass at the mere mention of the man. "Do you mind giving me five minutes?" She gestured to herself. "I just need to freshen up slightly."

Watari nodded. "Of course, Sarah-san. I shall wait for you right here."

Right. Briefly, Sarah considered slamming the door straight in his face, but desisted. He probably had a point, and L didn't seem like a person who liked to be kept waiting. Now that she thought about it, if _she_ was the world's greatest detective, would she like to be kept waiting by teenage girls?

Probably not. But still, it wasn't an excuse to sic the old guy on her like that.

So, instead, Sarah gave him a tight-lipped smile, shut the door as gently as she could under the circumstances, and hightailed to the adjoining bathroom. It was tiled beautifully enough to show that L was literally rolling in money (lucky bastard), but the lack of time ensured that she didn't have much time to appreciate her surroundings. She ran to the mirror over the basin, considered the colorless face and sunken eyes, and promptly stuck her head beneath the faucet. When she resurfaced, Sarah was glad to admit she looked a lot more like her normal self.

"Okay," she told herself, pushing back the wayward wet strands, "It's just another guy, and not to mention, a guy you've spoken to before without making too much of a fool of yourself. So what if he's the Big Bad? You've got this."

The speech made her feel marginally better, and when she opened the door to see Watari, her expression wasn't so hostile anymore. Watari, on his part, ushered her hurriedly to the lower floors, and straight into what seemed to be a gleaming kitchenette. Of course, Sarah was too focused on the detective perched upon a chair to notice her surroundings.

Unconsciously, her hands twitched in an attempt to cross themselves, but she forced them down. Knowing L, he would probably consider it a defensive posture and question her on what she remembered _again_.

As if last time wasn't bad enough. Sitting in the room, being told you were probably controlled by Kira, and being asked questions to which the only answer you had was 'I don't know'. Was it any wonder she had fainted again?

"Good morning, Sarah-san," he said, not looking up from the strawberry daifuku cake he was currently slaughtering. He really did have the manners of a child, Sarah thought disgustedly, seeing the way he slurped and licked the frosting. "Did you have a good night's sleep?"

"It wasn't sleeping. I crashed." she said shortly, taking the seat opposite him. She eyed his empty hand. "Where's your partner-in-crime? You were handcuffed together, last I checked."

"You had an acute stress reaction," Ryuzaki corrected, his eyes still fixated on the treat before him. "As for Light-kun… he's currently indisposed."

"Indisposed?"

"I suppose the correct term would be sleeping."

"Why do I have a feeling he had no choice in this?"

At her words, Ryuzaki's eyes rolled upwards to contemplate her. "You seem almost unnaturally interested in Light-kun, Sarah-san."

"What can I say? He is rather easy on the eyes," she fanned herself airily. "Can anyone blame me for wanting to see some eye-candy if I am to be imprisoned here?"

"… I see," L said after a moment's pause. "However, you are not being imprisoned, Sarah-san. I am merely placing you under surveillance." Methodically, he began arranging the jellies on the plate according to size. "While it is my personal belief that you are not a suspect, the others have expressed concerns regarding your freedom. As such, you shall stay in the Headquarters until the case is closed."

Others have expressed concerns, her ass. If Sarah had come to know of one thing whilst being in the company of the Task Force, it was this: L did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Opinions be damned.

"Until the case is closed?" Sarah choked out, her pretense of being calm evaporating in an instant as horror gripped her throat. Although she had expected it, to hear him say it like that… "That could take years! Centuries! The rest of my oh-so-short youth!"

"There is no need to be quite so dramatic, Sarah-san," His reproach was low, yet flat, and based on her previous conversations with him, Sarah was sure she had struck a nerve somewhere. The sudden vindictive satisfaction that surged through her almost made her smile. "Kira _will_ be brought to justice, sooner than later."

"Look, um, Ryuuga – I mean, L –,"

"For security reasons, I would advise you to call me Ryuzaki," he cut in smoothly. He phrased it a way that it wasn't a request so much as a strict order.

"Alright, Ryuzaki – you can't do this, y'know! I came to Japan to study, not to… not to be stuck here like a damn captive! I… My father will be quite worried if I don't finish my year properly and people will –,"

"That has been taken care of," he interrupted again, going back to his stupid daifuku. "You shall receive constant assignments from your teachers and the authorities at To-Oh have been informed that you are currently suffering from a severe degenerative illness that requires constant bed rest. For all intents and purposes, your year will not go to waste."

Sarah blinked. "But what about my father? He'll –,"

"He will continue to remain under the impression that you are attending classes regularly."

"And my friends? Someone is bound to notice if I don't –,"

"Like I said previously," L interrupted again, as he picked up the cup of tea placed across the table delicately, "Everyone at To-Oh will be informed you are unwell and hence, unavailable to venture out or talk to people."

Her mouth closed with a snap as she frowned. He seemed to have everything in control. Was it really so easy to rip her apart from her life without any repercussions? It made her feel… small.

"Since you seem to have no other questions," he continued in his usual monotone, "Perhaps it is time to discuss your new alias."

Alias?

"From now onwards, you shall go by the name Sarah Morrigan. This is merely a security measure, but if Kira _was_ controlling you, it is likely he has your name already." There was that word again, _controlling_. But wasn't L doing the same thing as Kira was, albeit, in a more roundabout way? "I must ask you to not reveal your real name to anyone on the team… Least of all to Light-kun and Misa-san."

"Light and Misa? As in… Misa Amane? The model? She's here too?"

L started nibbling on his fingernail. "Yes, Misa-san is here.

"But why?!"

"That is none of your concern."

Sarah's eyes narrowed. "If I'm to stay here till Kira is brought to justice, is there any reason to keep things from me? I mean, you have me under constant surveillance and –,"

"Regardless, there is no need for you to have that information. You are not part of the Task Force, and not only that… you are also a Kira suspect."

The protest died on her lips. There was something in his voice just then, something low and dangerous, and something that reminded her she was on shaky ground as it was. Perhaps he didn't suspect her of being Kira entirely, but somewhere, in that big brain, she was sure the suspicion had taken root.

When she thought about it, she wasn't sure if it hadn't laid a nest in her mind either.

She hated it. The situation, the worries… _Him_. She hated him the most. She hated how he could just sit there, all shades of calm and composed, while uprooting her life from the ground and reducing it to his little whims and fancies.

"Alright." Her throat was dry. "I don't suppose I have a choice anyway, so I'll play. I'm pretty sure if I don't, you'll snap me up in restraints faster than I can blink."

To be honest, she was surprised he hadn't. Asahi had been the first to point that out, seemingly astonished too that he wouldn't. L's reasoning to that accusation had been basic at best: Since he himself had lost his memories, there was no evidence that she hadn't either.

According to him, to interrogate her would be a lost cause. Sarah didn't know what to feel about that.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Miss?" Watari asked suddenly.

Maybe he had seen the sudden onslaught of tears in her eyes.

Sarah hurriedly wiped her face with her sleeve. "Sure."

The quiet hustle bustle drove away the silence, and Sarah's eyes dropped to her shirt. L was still eating his cake, spearing it with his fork before stuffing it into his mouth with a single-minded focus. She eyed him from beneath her lashes, watching the way his pink tongue would dart out, as if to test himself, before he swallowed it whole. He ate like he was making out with his food, his lips smacking softly at the ending of every bite in a faux-erotic way.

"Can I get you anything to eat with that, Sarah-san?" Watari asked as he placed the cup of tea in front of her, and she watched the steam rising from the cup before shaking her head slowly. She wasn't hungry at all, which was odd, since her last proper meal had been lunch at the University café yesterday. The blueberry scone didn't really count.

"You should eat something," L said out of the blue, "It'll help you feel better."

"I'm not hungry," she muttered, picking up the cup, taking a sip and then setting it back down. "Plus, honestly, I don't think _anything_ would help me feel better."

A well-cooked omelet was placed before her on the table. "You should really keep up your appetite, Sarah-san," Watari said as he pushed the plate towards her. "Starving isn't the solution."

"I'm not starving! It's not like I don't want to eat. I'm just not hungry."

"Is there anything else I can cook for you, then?"

"No."

"Are you sure?" Watari pressed, a concerned look on his face.

Sarah lowered her eyes guiltily – she always hated making anyone worry. "Yes."

Watari withdrew, the concerned look on his face didn't. She absently started playing with the table cover, tea all but forgotten on the table. "What about my cellphone, Ryuzaki-san? Can I speak to dad?"

_Plop. _L continued adding sugar cubes to his tea even as he spoke: "From observing your cellphone patterns, it seems your father usually calls you once a week." _Plop. Plop. Plop._ "Watari shall bring your phone to you every time he calls such that he has no cause to be suspicious. However," and here, his deadpan gaze met hers, "I assume there is no need to inform you that you are to not leak any details of your circumstances to him? The situation could turn… nasty."

It was an open threat. The food on the table before her didn't just look unappetizing anymore, it looked dangerous too. Like it would jump up and devour her on his mere command.

Dimly, Sarah realized her fingers were shaking as she fought to control the lump in her throat.

"O-of course."

**{X}**

The room she had woken up in was the room they'd assigned to her. It was large, airy, and utterly empty. Sarah's lips pursed as she contemplated the hollow cupboard and the complete lack of personal effects. If it wasn't for the large TV occupying a huge chunk of place on the wall, she would've dismissed the entire setup as a lost cause. Watari had informed her that her 'things' would be arriving soon from her old dorm. Till then, she was stuck in the old top and jeans she had been wearing when she had stepped foot inside the skyscraper.

They had even taken her bag away from her.

Sarah frowned as she looked outside the window. For the first time since stepping inside the building, she found some sense of time. It was late evening, which meant her talk with L had happened sometime in the afternoon. Watari had cajoled her with different options of food after the detective had slouched away, but her stomach continued to rebel.

Ultimately, he'd sent her up with a steaming cup of coffee that was now languishing on the table beside the huge bed.

Maybe seeing L eat would always rob her of her appetite. Frankly, she welcomed the idea. Her views regarding him had changed drastically since he was just-another-boy-on-campus to now being the person keeping her locked up against her will. Not for the first time, her eyes snapped up to the camera in the corner, and she suppressed a shudder. She was being monitored. Twenty-four-seven. Possibly in the bathroom too.

The notion made her nose curl in disgust.

Sighing, she pulled at and prodded at her hair until it formed a suitable bun before tying it in place with a rubber band. Her next move was to switch on the TV, fall down on the bed and watch reruns of a sappy TV show till all thoughts of Kira left her mind.

She'd soon find that it would become a habit.

**{X}**

**A/N: Sorry for super late update.**

**Oh god, I need to hurry. So, I haven't had net access since the last time I updated, and today, I have no time either. Ergo, no replies to PMs, reviews, etc.**

**I will, however, MAKE time to thank everyone who likes this story. And reviews on it. Thanks a lot for the feedback, guys. It really does make me update. And OMG over 60 followers for a story published barely 2 months ago?**

**God.**

**IMPORTANT: Is anyone interested in an AU SarahL oneshot, Btw? I have these plot bunnies jumping in my head, and not to worry, our favorite detective is very much IC. Also, special appearances by other cast members. (Lookitmesellinglikeaboss).**

**Anyhow, if you are, please to inform via review/PM. I will probably put it up along with a new chapter on Christmas. **

**So. Thoughts?**


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